The 20 year-old from Astley had been a model pupil at St Mary’s High School, leaving with good grades.
At one time she wanted to become a teacher but uncertainty and doubt had now meant that Imogen had become a NEET!
NEET stands for Not in Employment, Education or Training and Imogen’s mum district nurse Carole Parkes-Nutsey admits she began to worry.
“Like many young people Imogen just didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life,” says Carole, 49, “It’s okay to not know what you want to do straight away but we felt that the more that time passed the more difficult it would be for Imogen to find a career that was right for her.”
And when Imogen’s baby son Curtis came along, it made looking for the right career even more difficult. But thanks to the family making the right ‘Connexions’, that’s all changed.
Connexions is Wigan Borough’s information, advice and guidance service for young people and is there to help by advising them on the options available to them. Each young person in the borough is allocated their own personal advisor and together they can help young people explore their career ideas and develop an action plan, through to help and advice in overcoming any obstacles the young person may have.
Devoted mum Carole was with Imogen every step of the way and even went to her personal adviser sessions. “They started by getting Imogen to do a number of short courses that would help improve her skills and boost her confidence,” says Carole. “I really did feel involved in the process and I knew that if I had any issues or queries I could call the adviser and they would be there to help.”
Carole added: “One day the adviser just asked the simple question of what Imogen actually wanted to do and it really made us think.
“That really was the changing point.”
And it has all changed since then because Imogen is now looking to future with a cutting-edge career in hairdressing.
Her course begins in September at Wigan and Leigh College and she’s also looking forward to moving into a place of her own soon.
“We have gone from being really unsure and nervous about the future to knowing exactly where we are going,” says Carole.
“Who knows where Imogen’s new direction could take her.” And as for Imogen, she’s happy that it’s worked for her: “It can be quite daunting for young people to consider what they want to do in life, particularly when it involves having interviews but Connexions made the process not only easy but enjoyable as well. For any young person who is unsure of which direction to take, you really couldn’t do better than make the first step towards Connexions.”
Connexions Wigan is supporting more young people to access employment, education and training than ever before. So much so that the service has recently smashed nationally set targets for reducing the number of NEETs in our borough.
The council and Connexions were set the three-month target of reducing the number of NEET 16 to 18 year-olds to 7.3 per cent. The actual reported reduction figure is to 6.9 per cent – an over-performance of 0.4 per cent.
Wigan Council’s Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services, Nick Hudson says: “Connexions provides a personal advisor for every young person in the borough and they are committed to helping them by giving the very best advice and guidance there is.
“Clearly it’s working because the national target has been exceeded. Encouraging our young people to make the most of the opportunities available to them is extremely important and we believe that the Connexions service is doing just this.
“We look forward to seeing the number of NEETs coming down even further in the years ahead.”
