BBC Cymru Wales’ consumer programme X-Ray returns this autumn with a new strand, The Job Hunters, following five people from Swansea as they look for work and open up about the realities of being unemployed in today’s Wales.
Featuring people from 18 to 54, the strand aims to reflect the diverse group of people who are currently looking for work in this country. From a high flying businessman to a stay-at-home mum looking to join the work force, a recent graduate and a teen with no real qualifications to a recently redundant factory worker, these are the real stories behind the recession headlines.
Throughout the 12-week series X-Ray presenter Rhodri Owen and a number of handpicked experts will look at ways to boost the employability of the five. From CV clinics, work experience, advice on how to look for work, interview skills, confidence building and volunteering, the series will aim to put the five candidates in the best position to get the jobs they apply for.
The Job Hunters follows on from the success of The Street where the consumer programme followed the residents of a street in Wales as they took on different challenges.
In the last two series X-Ray set up in Abertillery and Heol y Cyw to follow the residents of two different streets as they tried to get fit and improve their wellbeing, and become more financially savvy. This time round the stakes are even higher – as people search for work in an ever competitive market, the five job hunters know that they need to make themselves stand out from the crowd.
For newly redundant Timothy Lee Rees this is his last chance to get it right. After walking into jobs in the past without really thinking of a career he is keen to look at retraining and finding a post that uses his brain as much as his hands. But after 12 years working hard for one company, life out of work has come as a bit of a shock and he has to get ready to start all over again.
Mum-of-three Gemma Price is trying to find part-time work that would fit in with childcare and her partner’s shift work. After five years caring for her children she knows a job would be good for her personally and the extra money would be a great help to the family, and allow her to give the children the life she never had.
Recent graduate Gareth Abbott-Haigh has a few months to decide which career path he wants to take, teaching or physiotherapy. Both will entail further training and the sports science graduate needs help to get the relevant experience and interview skills to make his applications stand out from the rest.
For 18-year-old Dwayne Landeg it is a different story. With few qualifications and no work experience he is looking for on-the-job training and a chance to start a career as a chef, but has no idea where to start.
And at the other end of the scale, 55-year-old Alan Goss has just become a new dad again and needs a secure wage and a secure career to support his new family. Working for himself again is not really an option, but will the man who has talked himself into jobs and created positions for himself find it so easy this time round?
Recruitment expert Aimee Bateman will be on hand throughout the series acting as a mentor to the job hunters, measuring their progress over the 12 weeks and helping to keep them motivated.
Each week X-Ray will look at different ways to make people more employable as the audience gets to know the five Job Hunters.
