Daniel: Working towards paid employment

For National Apprenticeship Week 2024, we spoke to Daniel who is currently working as an apprentice at The View café, run by Minstead Trust in the Portsmouth Civic Offices.

1. Why did you want to do an apprenticeship?

Independance and control over my own life. From past experiences, I can tell you it really doesn’t help when you have outside influences that are telling you that you can’t do it, and here they always tell you that you can.

When I first came here, my confidence was very low. I had very low self-esteem issues. I had low confidence. Now that I am here? I’m having the time of my life and doing this apprenticeship will help me take ownership of the things I’m good at.

2. What steps did you take to get here?

My mental health was quite poor after spending 8 years in college. And my mum couldn’t stand to see me like that, so she reached out and checked her resources.

3. What do you enjoy the most about your apprenticeship?

Training people on the till and taking the time to explain things to people.

4. Are there any challenges?

My mental health. I’ve had some time off Lily&Lime because of it. And things with mental health, it’s always with me. It’s always going to go a lot in waves, like some points I could be high in life. Some points I could be low. But it’s trying to get the low point not as deep to get higher, so I’m still able to cope.

5. What do you hope to achieve after your apprenticeship?

Hopefully some paid work in an environment the same as this or is this.

Sophie Enright, Service and Hospitality Manager at Minstead Trust said,

‘Daniel is an amazing staff member to have on shift. He is calm, polite and always ready and willing to work.

‘He is much loved in The View by all civic staff and most people know him by name. It is amazing to watch him laugh and joke around with staff while maintaining a high level of care in his work.’