FCHO gives four young people a springboard into their future careers

Four young people have joined First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) to learn about how it operates after they secured places on the housing association’s summer intern programme.

Leah Iqbal, Lucas Richman, and Olivia Wild – all 21 - and 19-year-old Josh Betts have been working at FCHO’s Union Street headquarters in communications, ICT, employment and finance teams. 

All are either graduates or at university and applied for the roles after hearing about the opportunities from FCHO staff. 

Olivia, who recently graduated with a 1st class honours degree in Psychology from the University of Huddersfield, said: “The job market can be tough for new graduates, so I am so very grateful for the experience FCHO is allowing me to gain. 

“Housing is so broad and a lot of elements of it link closely to my psychology degree, especially supporting customers to gain employment, help with benefit entitlement and general wraparound support should they need it. 

“It’s a fantastic place and industry to work in, giving me experience in a sector that really makes a difference.”                                                                                                                    

FCHO chief executive, Mark Gifford, added: “We are committed to offering opportunities for young people and that is why we have this summer intern programme. 

“I could not agree with Olivia more when she says things are tough for young people when they are looking for a job, so support like this can make a huge difference. 

“We’re proud to be helping these four very impressive people and look forward to them learning about what we do and crucially gaining vital experience as they move into their careers.”