Meet Lavinia

My journey with OWECIC started in December 2018. I met Angela Steele at a Christmas community church event. She gave a very quick talk about her business, what they do and what they can do for local women. She informed us that she ran all-female interior decorating courses and we could learn the basic skills of decorating, as well as other DIY skills. She said an important part of the course was learning about health and safety with a view to passing our cscs exam to gain a green card which would enable us to legally work on a building site, if we passed. The course ran over 12 days and we did both theory and practical.   Angela was a very good tutor, patient, fair, good natured, firm but fair. I passed my cscs test and learnt new skills which I believed I would use indoors. Angela kept in contact and told me that she thought I had potential to progress in this industry. I had very little self-confidence due to being a stay at home mum for the last 14 years. I did not want to be a cleaner or a dinner lady and I had no real desire to do either of these jobs. Angela firstly offered me a work placement with the Intodecor Project her Female Interior decorating Service. this was on a large job in Ashford and I worked there for two months. I have now been offered a self-employed position OWECIC, doing a range of work from decorating skills to learning bookkeeping to raising quotes. In fact, I have never used so many different tools and equipment before, I am learning something new every time I go to work. This opportunity will enable me to come off benefits, continue to build my confidence and give me a life other than just being a mum.

Lavinia Lee