Jonathan Blaize (23) - Now A Plumber
Young man Jonathan from East London has turned his life around by training with New Career Skills to become a plumber after years of getting into trouble with the police.
From trouble to taps thanks to New Career Skills
Jonathan Blaize, 23, from Manor Park, has just finished the first part of his plumbing course with new Career Skills and is set to return to its Southampton base to do the electrical element soon.
Jonathan said that before retraining with New Career Skills he spent a lot of time hanging about in the streets and often got into scrapes with the police.
He added: "I'm from East London and it's not all good around here. People get into bad social circles and get into trouble.
"I got into trouble and got nicked and went to court. I needed to change and New Career Skills helped me to do it in a short amount of time by focussing on something positive."
New Career Skills, which also has a centre in Doncaster, trains people for jobs as plumbers, electricians and professional property marketers. The company retrains people from all walks of life and helps them find employment or set up their own companies at the end of their studies.
Jonathan spent a lot of time after leaving school trying to make money from music, but once his son Trey was on the way he decided he had to find a more reliable income. It was then that he found New Career Skills and embarked on a life-changing journey.
He said: "From 20 to about 22 I was unemployed and I had stopped doing music because it wasn't really paying.
"I had a baby coming and I decided I needed a stable career for his sake. I'm very practical and I thought 'What should I do?' and I knew plumbing was a job in high demand, so I looked into it and decided to go ahead."
He said the New Career Skills course gave him something to give his full attention to and not get distracted.
"It was more intense than college, so it meant I could focus on it and finish it quickly and keep my focus.
"When I got back I made some business cards and I have been handing them out to let people know that I'm a domestic plumber and I'm on call.
"I used to be on street corners doing nothing, now I'm going into shops and handing out my cards and people are impressed. That's because of New Career Skills," said Jonathan.
New Career Skills Chief Executive, Steven Wines, said: "New Career Skills trains people from all walks of life - airline pilots, ex armed forces, teachers - and this is a truly inspirational story."
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