Leeds Lottery Employment Success

Marcus’ Journey

We’re thrilled to share the success story of Marcus, who, with the support of the Leeds Sensory Services’ Employment Team, secured a full-time role as a Warehouse Operative at CitySprint!

Marcus joined us in 2024 after moving to Leeds from Birmingham. He came to our Employment Service with a clear goal: to find a full-time job in a packing or warehouse environment.

Marcus has a dual sensory loss: he is profoundly deaf and registered as sight-impaired. He communicates primarily through British Sign Language (BSL) and has a foundational understanding of written English. Despite the barriers, Marcus possesses a strong work ethic, a solid educational background, and has successfully completed a Warehouse Operative apprenticeship.

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Tailored Support from Our Team

Our Employment Team provided Marcus with bespoke support to get him job-ready and confident:

• CV Enhancement: We helped Marcus polish his CV, ensuring his valuable skills and experience—especially his warehouse apprenticeship—were prominently featured.
• Confidence Building: Through focused coaching, mock interviews, and practical guidance, we helped Marcus feel prepared and confident for interview settings.
• Targeted Job Search: We guided Marcus in effectively using job boards, focusing on opportunities that were a good professional fit and had accessible transport links for his daily commute.

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Overcoming Communication Barriers

As Marcus’s first language is BSL, a key step was arranging support for his interview. We secured a qualified BSL interpreter through the Access to Work scheme, ensuring clear communication. Marcus and the interpreter met beforehand to establish a comfortable working relationship.

The result? Marcus successfully secured the position as a Warehouse Operative with CitySprint! His delight and increased confidence were immediately evident.

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Seamless Transition and Employer Engagement

Our support didn’t stop there. Our Employer Engagement Worker, Hannah, stepped in to ensure Marcus’s transition into his new role was smooth and fully supported.

Workplace Adaptations & Support

A priority was engaging with CitySprint to identify necessary workplace adaptations and ensure all health and safety requirements were met.

• Proactive Interpretation: Due to initial delays with the Access to Work application, CitySprint demonstrated outstanding commitment by funding a BSL interpreter for Marcus’s entire first week. This ensured he fully understood crucial health and safety protocols and initial training.
• Sensory Equipment: We coordinated internal support from our Dual Sensory Technology Workers (Dinos and Milton). They met with CitySprint to recommend and implement interim solutions, including:
  • Installing a flashing doorbell to visually alert Marcus when someone arrives.
  • Providing magnification software for his computer display.
  • Advising on broader reasonable adjustments.

Building an Inclusive Team

Our team also focused on ensuring Marcus felt integrated and that his colleagues felt supported. To help bridge the communication gap, we worked with the CitySprint team to create short video clips where colleagues introduced themselves and shared personal interests.

Our fantastic Marketing Department went a step further, adding BSL interpretation to the videos, making the introductions fully accessible and helping Marcus feel part of the team right away!

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Thriving in His New Role

Marcus is now fully engaged and thriving at City Sprint.

A huge thank you goes to everyone at CitySprint Leeds for their exceptional support and dedication. They have not only helped Marcus gain independence and confidence but have also fully recognised his skills and potential as a valuable member of their team.

Working together

We also want to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the entire Leeds Sensory Services team and the Employment Team. We remain committed to supporting individuals into employment based on their skills and potential, not their disabilities. Congratulations on another success!