Discovered: Ari Lutete
"No one was willing to take me on. My sister
put me up for an apprenticeship. The Prince’s Trust contacted me
about Get into Construction.."
School was ok. I enjoyed it. But I had problems
understanding because of my dyslexia. So I had other teachers to
give me some extra help and support. They made me read over work,
which helped.
“I did my GCSEs. I got one grade C in art, but that was it.
When I left school I felt down about my grades. But I felt proud
that I had tried. I looked around for apprenticeships. I was good
at working with my hands and working as a team, so it seemed like
the right thing to do.
“But no one was willing to take me on. My sister put me up for
an apprenticeship. The Prince’s Trust contacted me about Get into
Construction. They told me about the clothes I needed to wear. We
were interviewed before I went on the course to see how much we
wanted to do it. I was one of the last ones to be interviewed. I
told them how much I really wanted it.
“I couldn’t afford a phone, so they called my sister to tell me
I had got a place. I was just jumping around. I finally got to do
something that I really wanted. We did scaffold work, curb laying
and brick work. Then they told us we’d got our Construction Skills
Certification Scheme (CSCS) test. I spent the days revising.
“When I passed I felt so proud of myself. I did two weeks work
experience. I remember it snowed so much that there were no buses
running. But because I wanted to do it so much, I walked six miles
each way to work.
“The boss of construction contractor Barhale heard my story and
how committed I was. He offered me a 12-week work experience
placement. I did really well and got taken on. I was really happy
because I worked hard for it. My plan is to keep going and get
promoted.
“I’m studying for a NVQ level 2 in Construction and working
three days a week at the Olympic stadium building site at
Stratford.
It feels great being part of the Olympics. I’m
part of something really important. And it will improve my cv. I
can say I was involved in such a big thing because of The Prince’s
Trust.
“My dream job is to do carpentry and plumbing. Life is much
better than it used to be. I’m keeping busy. Before I’d just be in
the streets doing nothing.
“Thanks to The Prince’s Trust, they’ve boosted me up. The Trust
made sure I was at the right place. They were there to talk to when
I was stuck on something. They reassured me I’d be ok; made me feel
like there was someone on my side.
My friends are shocked and proud that I’ve done
so well.