Building confidence with The King’s Trust | How Beth began her career at Boots

Before joining The King’s Trust and Boots programme, Beth had gained valuable retail experience through volunteering in a charity shop, but faced barriers to employment including low confidence, anxiety, autism, and caring responsibilities for her mother. Through The King’s Trust’s Explore programme, she developed her confidence, communication, and leadership skills, growing from a quiet participant into a group leader. Beth then progressed onto the Get Into Retail with Boots programme, where she excelled in employability workshops, interviews, and her in-store placement. Her dedication and performance impressed colleagues so much that she was offered a permanent role at Boots. Securing her first paid job has increased Beth’s confidence, independence, and belief in achieving her future goals.

What were you doing before getting support from Boots and The King’s Trust?

I left school a few years prior and had been volunteering in a charity shop, as well as receiving employability support. This gave me retail and till experience which I enjoyed greatly. It gave me a sense of independence and ownership over a segment of my life and I impressed myself with what I had been able to learn and achieve over the 8 months there. This experience piqued my interest in taking a step towards paid employment in the retail sector.

However, I still felt multiple barriers were in my way, including low confidence and my anxiety which can be incredibly overwhelming. I have autism and struggle with loud and chaotic settings. Whilst I have learnt to mask well, it exhausts me. I am also a full-time carer for my Mum which takes up a lot of my day-to-day, but equally has given me a lot of life skills from a young age. I felt that I needed extra support in place to achieve get into paid employment and that’s where The King’s Trust were able to help.

The support I wanted was continued holistic support and personal development (confidence, communication, teamwork skills etc) as well as employability skills (job interviews, CVs etc) and I first took part in a King’s Trust “Explore” programme.

What happened during your programmes with The King’s Trust?

On day one of “Explore”, I was very quiet and mostly observed what was going on. However, on day two I began to take more of a leadership role during group tasks. It was amazing to feel confident enough to speak up and guide the group. I was very aware of the group and making sure everyone felt included and helped to give them roles. Regardless of anyone’s additional support needs, I was understanding of everyone as an individual and the pace they needed to undertake activities. By the end of the programme, I had become the main leader of the group and felt less nervous about asking questions so I could fully understand the task.

Once I had completed “Explore”, I felt confident enough to take my next step, a “Get Into Retail with Boots” programme. I attended employability workshops to help boost my skills ahead of the selection day. I really impressed both colleagues during mock interviews, as well as Stuart from Boots on the selection day. I was chosen to attend the two-week programme with Boots and took to the programme really well. I attended all employability days with eagerness to learn and also learnt effectively on the ground whilst on placement in Boots.

Now (post-Get Into), what are the impacts of your achievements?

Towards the end of the Boots programme, I attended an internal group interview at Boots in the hope of gaining a Christmas temporary contract. I had impressed staff so much that I was actually offered a permanent contract with Boots!

I have really enjoyed starting my first paid employment. I hope that it gives me more financial independence, while also continuing to push me out of my comfort zone and allowing me to experience more from life. Gaining this job has really boosted my self-confidence and strengthened my belief in achieving my future goals.