Ceiran, 19, was referred to Centrepoint after leaving care at age 18. He has been supported by our Centrepoint Works team with interview practice and through the Centrepoint Bursary so that he could complete the application process to become a Police Community and Support Officer with the London MET Police.
Ceiran, came to Centrepoint after leaving care at 18.
Since being with Centrepoint, his key worker has supported him with independent living skills and his jobs and education advisor has supported him into employment. Ceiran has also been able to access the bursary to fund ID and replacement GCSE certificates to enable him to apply for a position at the MET police as a PCSO.
Ceiran says having this support has given him the confidence to make difficult decisions and understand complicated processes.
“My key workers have been reassuring when things have been complicated. I can be a bit of a worrier and an overthinker and they help me navigate those moments. Hannah, my JET worker has been amazing. She visits me at the service and works through anything job related that I need support with.” Ceiran explains.
Becoming a police community support officer
When Ceiran told Hannah that he wanted to apply for a job with the MET police, but he needed proof of his English GCSE, passport and birth certificate. Hannah was able to direct Ceiran to the Centrepoint Bursary to fund what would otherwise have been unaffordable for him. This meant that he could progress with the application.
“I wouldn’t have been able to cover the cost of those things on my Universal Credit allowance. Without that financial support from the bursary, I wouldn’t have been able to progress with my application and get through the interview process.”
Hannah was also able to support Ceiran with interview practice ahead of the interview so that Ceiran was fully prepared. “Hannah introduced me to the STAR method which was the method they used in the interview so that was good that I had had a chance to practice and write down potential questions and answers that might come up. That made me feel a lot more confident when it came to the interview.”
Ceiran passed the interview stage and has now started in his new role as a PSCO.
Future plans
It’s Ceiran’s ultimate dream to become a bus driver, but he thinks that working for the MET will give him some great transferable skills; allowing him to give back to the community and provide secure employment so he can save in order to move forward and get driving lessons.
Ceiran has always loved buses. “I’ve always found them so relaxing and therapeutic. Some of my earliest happy memories are on buses and I’ve made a good network of friends who are bus enthusiasts. This is why, eventually, I would really like to move back to the south coast where I’m originally from and become a bus driver. I’m not going to give up on this dream, but I think I will enjoy being a PCSO for the time being and I will learn so much. I’ll be patrolling the neighbourhoods, meeting people, talking to people, it will help with my people skills. I’m not a particularly confident person and this will really help. Being a bus driver, I will need to be talking to members of the public and I’ll be able to develop my people skills working as a PSCO.”
Ceiran is happy to be coming off Universal Credit which he has found really stressful.
“The job pays well. Universal Credit is not enough to live on so I am really happy about the prospect of coming off benefits. I’ll be relieved to stop going to all those meetings with my work coach. It will feel like a weight off my shoulders. It’s full time too so I don’t need to be working part time and on a reduced rate of benefits. It really suits me!”
He continues, “The opportunities at the MET are excellent. If I decide to stay, I could work my way up. Once my probation is over, I can potentially get a transfer to Kent which is where I want to be because it’s where I grew up. It gives me more options. I’m really looking forward to this job because I think it will be really rewarding, open doors and improve my confidence. I can say that I served the public which is a great thing.”
Ceiran recently won a Centrepoint Award recognising the incredible progress he has made in such a short time.
We are so impressed by Ceiran’s passion and dedication to his dreams and wish him all the best in his role as a PSCO and hope that he reaches his ultimate dream of bus driving.
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