Rising hope for job success baker

Chris had been struggling to find work in the industry due to his hearing impairment when he joined our Better Working Futures service, despite being a fully qualified pastry chef. Chris told us about his passion for catering and explained that he wanted support in becoming self-employed so that he could showcase his skills and teach others how to make pastries and cakes.

Chris didn’t know where to start but after receiving support from his specialist self-employment advisor, he has now set up his own catering business, Hayward Patisserie. He has his own venue to deliver workshops, a new website and a contract with Wowcher and Living Social to promote his business to over two million people.

Chris said:

“Better Working Futures have given me the best support I could ever wish for, in areas that I have struggled with in the past. I am now more confident with in regards to self-employment.

I have achieved more than I ever thought I could in the short time that I have been here. I have learnt how to use social media for business and how to build a website from scratch. All the support I received was offered without me asking!”

Better Working Futures is our name for the government’s Work and Health Programme. It will help more than 55,000 unemployed people to become job ready. The service is co-funded by the European Social Fund. You can find out more here.