After being on furlough for a year Binta had to find new work when her Coffee Shop employer was forced to close. Binta was referred to GRoW from her Universal Credit coach to help get her back to work and she has now started a job as a Catering Assistant in a local school.
Binta said “I had been working full time at the Coffee Shop but I had to go on to Universal Credit when Covid-19 hit and I lost my job. My work coach put me in touch with a range of support providers but it was only GRoW that got in touch with me personally. As soon as I contacted them I received a call from Kaneez who explained all about the ways GRoW could help me and though I was sceptical at first I was also intrigued. As a single parent I really needed to find work that would fit my family commitments and I wasn’t sure anyone would really understand this and be able to help but GRoW really did.
Kaneez contacted me regularly to get me involved in the many different events and activities they were running. I’m not sure I would have stuck with the programme if they hadn’t have called me personally as I was feeling quite disheartened about being out of work and my confidence was affected. If they had just been emailing me rather than taking the time to pick up the phone and call I probably would have dropped out. Liz encouraged me to attend the weekly Coffee Mornings and I went on their GRoW Your Confidence programme and it was all starting to make a difference.
One of the best events I attended was GRoW’s CV Workshop. I had been applying for jobs but wasn’t really getting anywhere. As soon as I went on the CV Workshop with Sonia everything changed for me. Sonia was such fun and she is so friendly too, once we finished with my CV it was so much better. She recommended some websites for me to post my CV on and after just 3 days I was getting interest from employers. Within a week I had 3 interviews lined up. I had been planning to go on Sonia’s Interview Workshop but things happened so fast for me that there was no time. Instead, Sonia called me to a do an impromptu mock interview workshop on Zoom on the morning of my first actual interview so that she could make sure I was properly prepared. It was brilliant – so many of the questions she ran through with me came up during the interview and I was offered the job! I started earlier this month as a Catering Assistant at a Secondary school. I do have experience of working in kitchens and in restaurants too but I have never worked in a school before. It is so great to be working in a school as I only have to work term-time which is perfect for me.
Thanks to GRoW I also got to do a Level 2 Course in Food and Hygiene and so as well as now having a job I also have other knowledge and a certificate to add to my CV. I am so happy now to be working again, the team I work with is great, I really like my manager and, not only that, the job is not too far from home either. It has all turned out just great for me.”