After moving from Hackney to Hillingon, Mojisola was referred to GRow from her Jobcentre. She had been out of work since August last year when she lost her school cleaning job due to the schools being closed during lockdown. Since joining GRoW in the summer Mojisola has taken advantage of new learning opportunities, gaining qualifications and has now found a job working for the Royal Mail.
Mojisola said “I had been working in Walthamstow as a cleaner in a special needs school but when I lost my job due to lockdown I found it really hard to find another job. Working in a school is what I really want to do but it was only when I came to GRoW that I found out the type of qualifications and courses I needed to do to make my dream become a reality. I had already done a Level 2 in Helping in Schools and Colleges but as I was interested in getting a job as Midday Supervisor Liz encouraged me to do a Food Safety and Hygiene Course which I have now completed and I am also now doing a Safeguarding course which I will be finishing soon. Since May have been working once a week on a voluntary basis in a local school which is really good experience and I am hoping this will really boost my chances when I apply for a job in a school which is still my main goal.
The learning I have received through GRoW has been fantastic. I have done the GRoW Bootcamp which really boosted my confidence and I am also now doing the Preparing to Work in Schools Programme which is really informative and interesting.
I always read the GRoW newsletter/jobs bulletin that GRoW send out every week and have actually applied for three jobs I’ve seen on there recently. I applied for a job at Iceland and at Tesco and also for the job at Royal Mail which I have now been offered and will be starting in November. All of these jobs are night shifts which is perfect for me at the moment as I have three children and am also studying for my WEA Maths and English Level 2 which I really need to focus my time on.
I am really pleased about getting the Royal Mail job, it’s a seasonal job for Christmas but the hours enable me to concentrate on my studing during the day. Even though I gained my Maths and English qualification in my home country of Nigeria I still need to have the GCSE equivalent in the UK to be able to work in a school. As the Royal Mail job is just a 12 week contract I am still hoping to hear about my applications with Iceland and Tesco as they are both closer to home.
Being part of GRoW is something I will never forget. I have learned so much and they have provided such great support to me, especially with things like applying for jobs. They have helped me with the application forms and I have been on Sonia’s CV Workshop and the Interview Workshop which was fantastic. I had a one to one interview with Sonia and three of the questions she went through with me actually came up in my online application for Iceland!
When my Job coach from the Jobcentre calls me for an update is great to be able to tell them about all the courses I have been on and the jobs I am applying for. When they gave me the details about GRoW I was really interested to find out how they could help me and I’m so glad I approached them. I have been able to achieve so much in such a short time and I am really looking forward to what the future will hold for me when my children are a bit older and it is easier for me to work more hours. GRoW have given me the information I need to prepare for where I want to be and I feel I am really making progress in getting there.