“I love kayaks, I’m enjoying it, loving it actually. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had!"
Floyd Chapman, 21, from Holyhead is working as a Trainee Production Assistant on a UK Kickstart Scheme placement at the Sea Kayaking UK warehouse.
After school, Floyd went to college to complete a Level 1, 2 and 3 in Plastering and whilst studying, had a job with a private plasterer. Following college, Floyd was in and out of different jobs for a while, none of which were very stable or quite the right environment for him. Earlier on this year, Floyd found himself out of work and so signed on to Universal Credit at the local JCP in Holyhead.
Floyd was keen to find work within the construction industry but came across this role which piqued his interest. Beth, his Môn CF mentor helped him apply for the role, Floyd said “I didn’t think I was going to get the job because I had low confidence, so I was happy when I got the job.”
Floyd is involved in the production of the kayaks, which are all made from scratch onsite. Floyd’s role involves creating the seating rims which he makes with fibre glass and laminates them with resin. He is working his way up to working independently with less guidance.
“Basically, at the beginning of the day, I come in, knock the rims and seats from yesterday off the moulds, clean up the moulds, gel them, leave that to set, fibre glass and resin, then add the pigment (colour).”
Joanne, Office Manager at Sea Kayaking UK is pleased with Floyd’s progress and is keen to see him develop his skills. Floyd is now over three months into his placement, “It’s a great place to work, it’s hands on and everyone’s friendly.”
Floyd is now being supported by our In-Work team and will soon begin his funded driving lessons, to increase his job prospects in the future. Well done, Floyd!