A job, a community and people who believed in him; for Thomas Liljedahl, this meant a fresh start at life.
As Thomas pulls down the visor on his welding helmet to concentrate on the task in front of him, it is difficult to imagine that his life had been completely different just a few years ago. He is now an apprentice blacksmith at Give Steel, where he is just about to become a qualified journeyman, but getting to this stage has been a long journey.
Thomas grew up in the North Copenhagen suburb of Kongens Lyngby and fell into a criminal trajectory at an early age. After a custodial sentence, he decided he wanted to make a new future for himself; but this meant finding somebody who was willing to give him a real chance. He found such an opportunity at Give Steel, where he started out working in the warehouse, his first real job. He then took the initiative to apply for an apprenticeship as a blacksmith.
“If I’d fallen back into my old habits, I’d probably be dead or back in prison by now.”
Looking back, Thomas now thinks that his decision to relocate to Jutland and make a fresh start was the moment he got his life back on track.
More than an apprenticeship
This was about more than just a job for Thomas. It meant becoming part of a community where there are people who are interested in how you are doing, even when the going gets tough.
Give Steel apprentices receive close supervision at their place of work and when at school. Kristian Eliseholm, who works with our apprentices at the company, visits them at their respective schools, maintains contact and is available to provide support.
“Kristian and several other people from the team at Give Steel have been a huge help. They’ve been supportive and were great whenever I needed help getting out of a slump.” says Thomas.
Close relationships make a difference. Sticking to a qualification, a job and the goals you have set for yourself is an easier process when you have somebody to spar with and you feel that other people really do believe in you.
A new opportunity creates value
Give Steel is a place where apprentices and trainees get to meet people from a wide variety of different backgrounds. Some come straight from schools and colleges. Others may have found their way into the labour market by following a rockier path. What they all share in common is that we give them the chance to grow by giving them proper tasks, real responsibility and professional training.
For Thomas, this meant that he is now looking towards fully-qualified status and a future based on values that are very different from those of his previous life. He now looks back on the years that Give Steel chose to invest in him as being pivotal to his own personal development and says:
“I really appreciate the way the company gave me a new chance.”
When people succeed
TThomas’s story is a great illustration of how a job can mean so much more than just a paycheck. It can provide structure, community, identity and belief in your own abilities. The impact can go far beyond the workplace when companies open their doors to people who would otherwise be lost to the labour market or who have had to deal with life challenges.
For Thomas, his apprenticeship did not just mean taking a qualification. It became the cornerstone of his new life.