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Moving On courses help Brian to rebuild his career
 From staring death in the face to a future full of promise, 'battling' Brian Harmston has come a long way from the man who was given just months to live five–and–a–half years ago.
Even though the Grimsby resident had beaten the cancer which doctors said would claim his life, the fight had left him withdrawn, isolated and depressed.
It was then he was referred to Shaw Trust, the national charity which provides training and employment opportunities for people disadvantaged in the workplace by disability, ill health or other social circumstances.
After counselling and encouragement from Shaw Trust he was offered a place on one of the Moving On courses, a series of sessions offering intensive support aimed at boosting skills and confidence.
From there he moved to the Work Step programme, which provides support for people who would otherwise find it difficult to remain in work and recently Brian has returned part–time to his former career in pest control with the ultimate goal of full–time work in his sights.
For 60 year–old Brian, who lives with his wife Eunice in Grimsby, Moving On provided the vital first few steps in rebuilding his shattered career and now Shaw Trust is planning to run more of these successful courses at the West Marsh Community Centre, in Grimsby.
Brian had worked in pest control for 25 years and, having survived a heart attack, had already had to leave two jobs once employers discovered his medical history.
It was three months after leaving his last job that doctors discovered he had cancer of the kidney.
"They said there wasn't much they could do because it had spread into my lung and the blood vessels surrounding the kidney. I wasn't given much chance," he remembers.
He embarked on a course of treatment which involved injecting himself with drugs three times a week and, incredibly, the tumours shrank away leaving one on his kidney, an organ which surgeons then removed.
Physically he has had no problems since and is in remission but four long years of fighting the disease had taken its toll on his mental health and he was receiving treatment for depression when he first made contact with Shaw Trust.
"When I first started going to the Moving On course I wasn't very responsive and was apprehensive about it all," Brian admits now.
"I went the first week and thought I'd give it another try so went the second week and gradually got into it and enjoyed it."
"I'd been isolated; you do tend to get like that when you're not working or in contact with people, which I had been for years."
"Not being at work I'd tended to stay indoors or go down to my allotment and I never really got to talking to people."
"The biggest thing the Moving On course helped me with was getting back into the community."
Development officer Lisa Cook explains anyone who lives within Grimsby and Cleethorpes, is unemployed, over 18 and experiencing mental ill health, is eligible for the course.
"You could just be worried about returning to work, just even slight anxiety can be classed as mental health but if you call it mental health it can be daunting," she adds.
"If employers hear that someone has a history of mental illness, the shutters can come down and we can help clients overcome that."
"We can also go to employers and get people work trials and placements as a lead–up to going back to work, with the emphasis on it being very individual and tailored to meet their needs."
Moving On, funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the European Social Fund and administered by the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges, takes three forms: A six–week course aimed at overcoming barriers to work, a two–day motivational series of sessions and, as a follow–on from both, the opportunity to gain an OCR job seekers accreditation.
It is aimed at helping people achieve their goals, be it attending college, carrying out voluntary work or gaining paid work and for Brian it moved him on to gain work with new pest control company, Elite Environmental and Hygiene Services Ltd, based in nearby Middle Rasen.
With his boss Colleen Warne, Brian covers the Humberside region, taking in Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Hull and still receives vital support from Shaw Trust, not just in the form of regular meetings to review his progress, but in practical ways too; via Work Step he was provided with a satellite navigation system as his work involves a lot of travelling, and a laptop computer.
"It's important to have that support. Knowing that I've always got somebody at the end of a 'phone I can talk to. They're genuinely interested and it was really helpful."
Life for Brian now, is full of promise. "I've been guaranteed that this job will continue for at least three years and I'm hoping that eventually I shall be working full–time again, that's my ultimate goal.
"I have a future to look forward to and I didn't think I'd ever get to this stage. It's something I never thought would happen. I'd been told at the hospital to expect the worst and I'm here now and I'm working. It's wonderful."
Infolink: To find out further information about the work of Shaw Trust across the UK, visit website: www.shaw-trust.org.uk.
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