“I had been out of work for a very long time,” said Symone Liburd of Greenford, who is now a sous chef at a catering company after being helped by the council’s WEST service.

“I had been out of work for three years,” added Symone. “Therefore, I had no recent employment history. I was looking to undertake some volunteering to help me transition from being unemployed to employed.”

This is where a relatively new service provided by Ealing Council called WEST (which stands for Work, Education, Support and Training) came in.

The service was set up by the council last year with the support of the Mayor of London. It aims to provide personalised, intensive support to out-of-work residents to enable them to progress into training or work.

Why you should head WEST

It has been building a positive reputation and we recently told the stories of Charmaine and Isha and about how help from WEST got them into jobs and changed their lives.

Symone echoed their praise for WEST. She said: “The dedicated advisers help you to identify the reasons why you have been out of work and what you can do to overcome it. They also have great resources such as accredited training and local links to help you get a job and genuinely want you to achieve your goals. WEST helped me to set achievable short-term goals and address the areas that I wasn’t very strong in. It helped me improve my food hygiene skills, which added to my CV and showed that I am up-to-date on food hygiene – which is essential for all food handlers. And WEST then helped me highlight my skills and experience better on my CV so it could stand out.”

Find out more

If you are unemployed, living in the borough and over 18 years old, WEST can help.  Regular one-to-ones are run in community centres and libraries across the borough, by appointment only.

Advisors can offer support on a one-to-one basis with:

• CV writing
• Job search and application help
• Interview preparation
• Career advice
• Access to free, accredited training.

To find out more, call 020 8825 9894 or email WEST@ealing.gov.uk