Daniel has been a student on our Steps into Employment programme which aims to prepare our students for the world of work. The group have been working closely with supported employment specialists, Status Employment, who worked with Daniel to help him volunteer at the Lion Vibes Record Shop in Brixton.

With support from his Status Employment career advisor, Jahida, he set up a meet and greet with the record shop staff, showed them his one-page profile and had a chat. Daniel successfully secured a placement, and has since been offered a paid role. 

Reflecting on how it all began, Daniel said, ‘Volunteering was really good’. At the shop, Daniel has taken on a range of tasks including, ‘Sell[ing] the records, stamping, and bagging things up to send to different countries.’ When we caught up with him, he’d just finished a shift the day before, ‘Yesterday I played music. I played one jazz and one hip hop,’ he said. He also shared a few of his favourite artists, ‘I like Michael Jackson so much... Cliff Richard, and Boy George.’ 

Music has always been a big part of Daniel’s life. He told us, ‘I have a DVD at home. I put it in [the computer] and dance to it in my bedroom.’ He also plays guitar and sings, sharing that his favourite thing about working at the record shop is being able to listen to music and sing while he works. 

When he's at the shop, Daniel says he feels, ‘Excited. I like the people there, they love me so much.’ He enjoys learning new skills and likes the freedom that comes with earning money, often using his pay to ‘go out with my friend’. Of course, every job has its challenges. ‘The computer is hard’, Daniel admits, but he’s never afraid to ask his manager Ben for help, ‘Ben is good!’