Tom English, 22, has worked at tyre and exhaust specialist Target for the past four years, after completing a six-month stint with GO in 2021.
Mr English, who lives with autism, found it difficult to talk to people when he was a teenager, but his life had been transformed by his time at GO and subsequent experiences in the workplace.
‘I couldn’t talk to anyone when I was younger. I found it really daunting. But now I’m fine,’ he said.
During his placement at GO, Mr English was trained as part of the shop’s furniture donation team.
This gave him more confidence and developed his teamwork skills.
‘It was good to be able to get used to talking to people. It got me out of my shell,’ he said.
‘I went out in the van to pick stuff up, I remember moving stuff around back at the shop, and I was clearing things away, all with different groups of people.’
With assistance from the Guernsey Employment Trust, Mr English eventually moved from his GO placement into a full-time job at Target.
Among his responsibilities are unloading and sorting the company’s tyres into the correct areas of the workshop and keeping the workspace tidy by sweeping away dust and other dirt.
‘I usually deal with about 60 or 70 tyres a day,’ he said.
‘It’s important to put them in the right places and make sure the same types are together.’
Reflecting on his time at GO, Mr English said he had really enjoyed the placement and it was an invaluable step on the road to taking on a full-time job.
Target owner Dave Whalley said Mr English’s development over the past few years had been ‘remarkable’ and he had become ‘a genuine asset to the company’.
He said Mr English was fully integrated into the business, including joining in jokes and banter with his colleagues.
‘I think Tom is really intelligent as well. He often makes some really insightful observations and is good at what he does with the organisation of the tyres,’ said Mr Whalley. ‘He is a real success story and I’m delighted for him.’
