Laura came to the GRoW Programme looking for help to get back to work and has now completed two courses and is interested in more training to equip her for the world of work during Covid-19.
Laura said “I first learned about the GRoW Programme following a visit to Barra Hall Children’s Centre in Hillingdon. I was looking to get back to work after having my daughter and a GRoW leaflet at the Childrens Centre explained they could offer me help and advice.
I attended two GRoW sessions in Hayes and found out about opportunities to undertake education and training that would help me get the kind of work I was looking for. Because my daughter is only one I am only really interested in part-time work, particularly work I can do from home. I am quite a motivated person but I found I just needed the right advice about where to go and what to do. I found the GRoW Programme were really able to point me in the right direction and Liz and Tosin were always on hand to give me help and support if I needed it. I attended the Uxbridge Jobs Fair and there was a lot of information available there that helped me understand the type of training and qualifications I would need to get in order to get the types of jobs I wanted.
Before I had my daughter I used to work in a Nursery and so I decided to do a Childminding Course at the Adult Learning Centre and I also signed up for the GRoW Lockdown Programme online training course. I chose to do the Food and Hygiene Course and have now completed both courses which are really important if you want to work with children.
The GRoW Lockdown Food and Hygiene Course was really good to do. As it is all done online it is easy to stop and start when you want which was really important for me as I needed to work around my daughter.
With everything going on now with Covid-19 I am considering telemarketing jobs as there seems to be quite a few jobs available in this area of work. You can work from home which is perfect for me with a baby at home. Tosin has updated my cv for me and I get the GRoW Job Bulletin every week which I find really useful. She has told me that if I do need any help and advice I can contact her anytime which is so good to know.
I am quite a motivated person but being part of the GRoW Programme has really helped me as they have given me the tools to go out and look for what I want.
The next step for me now is to look at doing the GRoW Lockdown Programme Call Centre Handling course as I really think that will really help me get a job in the current climate.“