A Bradford woman who was jobless for seven years has finally secured herself employment with the help of a Government programme.

Sarah Gladwin, 35, had become increasingly demoralised when application after application resulted in continual knock-backs.

That’s when her Jobcentre Plus referred her to Ingeus for specialist help. Sarah was paired with an employment advisor at Ingeus, which delivers the Government’s Work Programme in West Yorkshire, who arranged for her to attend a specialist cleaning course with a recognised training provider.

She did just that and emerged with an NVQ qualification – and with her confidence intact once again.

“Soon afterwards, and with Ingeus’s help, I applied for a job with City Facilities Management, and was thrilled to find out I had been successful,” said Sarah, of of Laisterdyke.

City Facilities Management is the company contracted to clean ASDA’s supermarkets to professional standards, and Sarah now works as an ASDA Ace at the newly-opened store on Cemetery Road in the city.

“Having a job means everything to me,” Sarah added. “With a young family to support, earning a wage is very important, but being back in work means I can continue to build my confidence as well as learning new skills and making new friends. It has given me a purpose again and unless you spend time without a job you’ll never know just how important that is.”

Sarah’s boss is Julie Dunnachie, the cleaning manager for City Facilities Management at the store. “Of course, Sarah’s past experience and willingness to learn was important, but she is also increasing her skills each day,” she said. “She is already a key member of our team and we’re delighted that, through working with Ingeus to find our new recruits, we have been able to give people on the Work Programme like Sarah this opportunity.”

Ingeus is one of the UK’s welfare-to-work providers, delivering employability services to support unemployed people into lasting work.