Lina came to the GRoW Programme in 2019 looking for work in administration and has just been offered a job to work as an Administrator for the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Programme in Wembley.
Lina said “I had a career break when I was bringing up my children and haven’t worked now since my last job ended in 2018. I first started work in 1987 at a job centre in Harlesden and have fulfilled various roles since then including a Revenue Assistant and Credit Controller for BT and I also worked for an Accountancy firm before moving to London in 2016.
My work coach at the Job Centre introduced me to the GRoW Programme and my first contact was with Liz Sewell who spent some time finding out about what I wanted to do for work and we set about a plan for how I would achieve it. The first step was to improve my CV which really needed some work and to start applying for jobs. Tosin helped me complete all the application forms and helped me write effective cover letters to get me noticed. I hadn’t written a cover letter in so many years and so it was so good for me to get that help and support.
In the days when we could still meet up face to face I used to get together with Tosin, Liz and Mercedes at their office in Hayes or at the Methodist Church and I attended the GRoW Programme courses where I met so many other ladies who were in the same position as me. It was lovely to be able to get together and socialise with other people who understood what I was going through. I started building my skills through Strive Training, completing an IT Level 1 in Business Administration, Retail Knowledge and Employability Skills. I also completed a home learning course in April last year on the Principles of Administration Level 2. Even though it was quite a challenge it was so good to do something useful with my time, strengthening my skills and improving my employment prospects and the tutors were really helpful.
I have been attending the GRoW Coffee Mornings and reading GRoW’s weekly newsletter and jobs bulletin and was really interested when I found out about the new NHS jobs that have been created as part of the Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Sonia and Liz helped me with my cv and I sent off my application a few weeks ago. Since then I have undertaken the NHS e-learning which consisted of 11 training modules. I had to pass these modules at 80% or above and was so pleased when I passed.
I have now been offered a job as an Administrator at the vaccination centre in Wembley and can choose my own shifts. I am planning to work Monday to Wednesdays and am really looking forward to a new challenge and getting out and about again. The flexibility of the job is perfect for me and it’s such a great opportunity to be able to work for the NHS,
The GRoW Programme has helped me so much. It has raised my confidence which I lost when I left my last job. Liz, Saeema and Tosin’s advice to me was to take a deep breath, get out there and don’t be scared. They really made me feel I could do it and that I should go for it and I must say I don’t feel half as nervous now as I did before!