When the Kickstart scheme was announced, we knew it would allow us to offer some great new opportunities for young people, and we’ve had some fantastic people join us as a result. Here. we talk to Deshaun, who joined us as an IT Services Technician, about his experiences.

Who are you and what is your role at CAM? 

“My name is Deshaun, I started at CAM in April and I’m an IT Service Technician. It’s my job to help make sure the IT systems are running smoothly so that the advisers can help clients. If something’s not working, whether it’s an issue with a keyboard or monitor, or a problem with a log-in or account, it’s our job to solve the problem.”

How did you hear about the role? 

“I first heard about the opportunity through my work coach. He was going through Kickstart placements that were available and Citizens Advice was the one that took my interest. I’d heard about the charity before as they’d helped my dad a few times in the past. I thought it was really cool how Citizens Advice gives free advice to people, when a lot of companies would charge for the same service.”

What has it been like learning new skills on placement?

“It was a bit tough at first as I didn’t have a lot of knowledge and had to build that from the ground up. It was definitely a big learning curve but I got over that quite quickly. Since then I’ve learnt so much, mainly through doing training on Coursera which has enabled me to learn all the fundamentals that I need, from security, hardware, software etc. I want to be a game developer one day and there’s a lot of transferable skills in IT that I’ve acquired, so it’s been a great experience.”

What have the people you’ve been working with at CAM been like? 

“Everyone at CAM has been amazing, I can’t fault them at all. They’ve helped me so much ever since I’ve been here and there’s never been any issue at all with getting help. I can turn around and ask as many questions as I want and everyone’s been so co-operative and willing to offer support. Every single day I’m learning something new.”

What advice would you give to someone thinking about taking part in Kickstart? 

“I’d definitely recommend it. At first, I wasn’t really sure about relying on the Kickstart scheme to find a job but it’s worked out brilliantly for me. Before, I was in a warehouse working nightshifts but now I feel like I’ve got so much more knowledge. My confidence has improved as well. I’d say to anyone, have a good work ethic and a can-do attitude and you’ll do well.”