Carl Griffiths can take the next step in his career – after being presented with a pair of size 21 boots!
Having completed six months work as a Warehouse Assistant at Castell Howell Foods in Cross Hands under the Communities First Jobs Growth Wales scheme, 23-year-old Carl had gained the necessary experience to add to his CV.
Following this, he was offered work in the warehouse on a full-time basis. However, unfortunately Carl’s safety boots which are required to enable him to work safely in the warehouse became damaged over time and due to health and safety regulations he was unable to continue his work without a new pair.
The problem wasn’t that 6ft 8ins tall Carl is too big for his boots, but that he’s too big for anyone else’s boots!
Carl, who lives in Trimsaran, needed safety boots to be produced specially to fit his feet and was struggling to afford the high cost of this. Communities First stepped in to help by funding the £843 cost of bespoke safety boots.
Having now received his new boots, Castell Howell have confirmed they will continue to support Carl by offering him shifts four days a week between the Warehouse and Transport departments to allow him to return to work in this sector should he wish to.
In the meantime while waiting for his boots to be made, Carl has been keeping himself busy working behind the bar in his local social club. He confirmed he will be keeping his options open and now that he has his new safety boots it will allow him to explore other options for work in the future.
Carl hit the headlines last March when Wales Captain Sam Warburton presented him with a pair of size 21 Adidas rugby boots so that he could resume his playing career after a long fruitless search for the right size boots.
Carmarthenshire County Council executive board member for regeneration Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “Carl’s was one of the more unusual requests received for help. The high cost of specially made boots was an obstacle in the way of Carl moving into the work he wanted.
“I’m delighted that Communities First has been able to make this very worthwhile investment in Carl’s future.”
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