Chris Cotton, who runs the youth programme, works with over 20 young people every year on 

a one-to-one basis, offering coaching support to enable them to take proactive steps towards their goals.

Samantha* met Chris in summer 2017. Due to some recent experiences, she was lacking self-confidence in her abilities and felt that she needed some support to help get back into the working world.

Samantha’s first priority was to get a paid job. She had experience in retail so worked with Chris to apply for jobs. 

“Chris helped me a lot with filling in application forms, practising interview questions and preparing for assessment centres until I felt comfortable enough to do them myself. He really helped me to build up my confidence.”

Samantha was successful in getting a job at a well-known clothes shop and says the experience helped her to develop her interpersonal skills. “Even though it wasn’t what I wanted to do long-term, it was very valuable at that time because it brought me out of myself. I also made friends who I still keep in touch with.”

However, Samantha’s real ambition was to get back into education so that she could pursue 

her dream of becoming a teacher. Chris helped Samantha to apply for a PGCE teaching qualification which she completed in 2018. During the course, Samantha realised that she was going to need a laptop so that she could write essays and create lesson plans. She spoke to Chris about this and he suggested that she applied for a grant through the Working Communities Bursary scheme. Talking about the bursary, Samantha says, “It was a really quick process and a relief for me as I would have struggled without a personal laptop.”

After she’d qualified, Samantha got a job in a Special Educational Needs department. Following this experience, she has now found a job as a teacher, working in an adult education college. Samantha says, “The service that Chris offers through the Aylesbury regeneration is really valuable to people like me who need a bit of support to build up their confidence and achieve their goals.”