From placement to promotion: Dawid’s Salford Futures journey

After months of searching for work and completing a bootcamp to build his skills, Dawid was struggling to break into employment. Despite his determination and background in computer science, nothing seemed to stick—until a work coach at the Jobcentre referred him to the Salford Futures programme.

I was unemployed claiming Universal Credit for around like six, seven months. I did a bootcamp to get some experience to find a job. After searching for work for multiple months, I couldn't find anything. The JobCentre recommended me to do the Salford Futures programme.”

Dawid began an eight-week placement within Salford City Council’s Council Tax/BetterOff team. Apprehensive about his first ever office-based role, he entered the placement with no prior experience of working in a professional setting. But he quickly found his footing thanks to a warm and supportive team—and an especially proactive line manager, Angela.

Angela, the BetterOff Team Leader, acted as Dawid’s placement supervisor. Her approach was simple but effective: keep him busy, challenge him, and support him to ask questions and learn from real tasks.

I kept him busy with lots of different bits of work so that he could learn as much as he could. I encouraged him to ask questions, to speak up when he wasn’t sure of anything and to get involved.”

Angela quickly saw the potential in Dawid and worked to support his development.

By the end of the placement, I had really seen his confidence and skills develop and was pleased to be able to keep him in the team.”

Dawid’s placement was originally due to end after eight weeks—but Angela and the team were so impressed that they extended it by two more weeks until a Support Officer role became available. Dawid applied, interviewed, and secured the job.

As a Support Officer, Dawid assisted his colleagues with various administrative tasks and reports. His ability to pick things up quickly, combined with his technical background and willingness to take on new challenges, led to further opportunities.

He was soon contributing to the Winter Fuel Support Scheme, helping older residents apply for financial support over the colder months. This included making phone calls to applicants, managing email correspondence, and navigating a variety of internal systems—all completely new territory for him.

I had never had much phone contact with customers before. So that was something new. But I’ve picked it up really fast.”

Within the year, Dawid was promoted to Council Tax Reduction Officer. In his new role, he works on discretionary housing payments, supporting residents at risk of homelessness and helping to ease financial pressures through housing-related grants.

Angela has no doubt that Dawid’s success story is an example of what can happen when you invest in someone's potential.

It was a pleasure to support him with this and I’m proud of how far he’s come in such a short space of time.”

Dawid’s advice to anyone considering Salford Futures is simple:

Never be afraid to ask questions. I asked questions all throughout…I never wasted any time on the programme.”

Find out more about Salford Futures here or email salfordfutures@salford.gov.uk.