The day was organised by the Occupational Therapy (OT) team at Cygnet Elms, comprising of Rebecca Sewell (OT), Riccardo Brade (OTA) and Jenna Foxall (OTA). The main aim of the event was to help service users to connect with companies, find volunteering opportunities and to meet organisations that could support their vocational goals.
Joining the OT team on the day were two service users from Cygnet Elms who volunteered to help to set up the venue and who also did a great job supporting all the visitors.
A number of organisations attended the event to promote the vocation opportunities and projects they can offer the service users. These included The Prince’s Trust, Cinnamon Trust, Heart of England Forest and Thrive to Work.
Around 30 service users attended from Cygnet Elms, Cygnet Cedars, Cygnet Sedgley House and Lodge, Cygnet Heathers, Cygnet Joyce Parker Hospital and Cygnet Hospital Sheffield. They took the opportunity to seek projects of interest and was it wonderful to see service users interacting and being inquisitive. It was also a brilliant chance to expose service users to job fairs and overcome any anxieties about exploring work.
The day was a great success with Rebecca commenting, “This was Cygnet’s first vocation expo and we are hoping to run a bigger and better event each year. With increasing links with external organisations, Cygnet’s vocational opportunities will rise enabling our service users to develop their work skills and engage in meaningful vocation.”