Advancing professionally, Growing personally

Starting as an apprentice and advancing to care home and marketing manager at Specsavers York Home Visits, Jacob reveals how his career journey boosted his confidence and helped him embrace his true self.

“My Specsavers journey began in 2015 as an apprentice in store, a path I chose after a conversation with a Specsavers director and a nudge from my mum.” Jacob reflects. “I fell in love with the work, moving from an apprentice to an optical assistant quite quickly, and later getting hands-on experience in the lab.”;

The reward of home visits

“Today, I’m a home visits optical assistant with Specsavers York Home Visits, a role and team I’ve enjoyed for the past four years. The freedom in home visits is unmatched, but I’d say it’s the impact on people’s lives that really drives me.

As well as my optical assistant role, I’ve taken on responsibilities as a care home and marketing manager. I coordinate events to ensure patients in care homes receive the eye care they need and manage marketing efforts to raise awareness about our services, especially home visits. I’ll never forget a patient who hadn’t had his eyes tested in 15 years due to a stroke. He only found out about our home visits because his wife went to one of our events. His glasses were falling off, taped up and completely scratched. When I delivered his new glasses, his tears of joy were a huge reminder of the difference our work can make.”

Family business; friends for life

“Even though we’re a big company, every business is individually owned so has a unique feel to it. You’ve got the support of a big company with the training, the progression, but at the same time you have that tight knit team feeling which I love. You can’t get that just anywhere. No matter where I’ve been here – in store or with home visits – that supportive, family culture runs true throughout. I’ve made lifelong friends here, two of them will even be bridesmaids at my wedding! The supportive feel has allowed me to be my true self, giving me the confidence to come out as gay. The support from my colleagues made a huge difference, and I hope my story can inspire others.”

Finding the right support and sticking with it

“I’m currently working through the Cert 3 training course, the first step towards further progression in optics. My goal is to complete the course and move on to management training, with hopes of becoming a director one day. The directors at Specsavers have been so supportive of my progression, and I know they’re ready to help me achieve my goals.