Ex-con wins employment award

An ex-convict, who has spent six of the last ten years in prison, turned his life around to win a North West employment award.

Mark Bland, now in his mid twenties and working for Link4Life, Rochdale's Boroughwide Cultural Trust, picked up the employee of the year award in the Work Skills category of the 2009 North West Local Employment Partnership (LEP) awards.

As winner of the ‘Work Skills Award’, the employee has to demonstrate an outstanding level of achievement in their personal and skills development by gaining employment and continuing to develop after being recruited. They will also have shown what a difference the job has made to their lives.

On his release from prison, Mr Bland was helped to look for a job that could give him the support and direction he needed. Having signed up to the LEP, Link4Life agreed to offer a period of work experience supported by an extensive package of training and mentoring.

This has now turned into successful full-time employment in one of Link4Life’s fitness centres and Mr Bland is now helping to support young offenders in the community.

Collecting his award, he said: “I think that being given the chance by Link4Life has made a lot of difference to me. It has helped me to adjust to a normal way of life a lot quicker. The whole experience has made me a more confident person.”

Link4Life also won the Work Skills employer of the year award at the ceremony at Old Trafford.