Blog

GRoW participant Maria Luiza has just started studying for the AAT Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Bookkeeping at Uxbridge College.  Maria shares her experience with us:

“My GRoW Adviser Saeema called me last week to let me know about a Level 2 course in Bookkeeping that I could do, it was the last day to sign up and I’m so glad I managed to get on the course.  I’m not sure what I want to do for work but I do know that I want to learn something new. I think learning a new skill is good for my confidence as it makes me feel I am doing something for myself and putting my time to good use.

I’m not sure how things will evolve after I have finished the course but if I enjoy what I have learned I might try a career in the future in bookkeeping or accounting. I think it’s in my personal interest to understand basic accounting and financial matters, it comes very handy in life. When Saeema called me I just thought “why not give it a chance?”.  I thought it would be good for me to engage with other adults as I’m a stay at home mum at the moment and it’s nice to get out and see people. The tutor at the college told us that at the end of the course we would be in a good position to apply for bookkeeping jobs so you never know, a job might even come out of it!

I started the course last week on 7^th October, it is completely FREE and it’s part classroom and part online so I get to meet up with the other students on the week we are at the college.  I’m so glad I did it as I love it! I will sit 2 exams and the course is expected to finish in January.

I signed up to the GRoW Programme in January 2020 and I really enjoyed taking part in the sessions.  I was quite shy at first and was feeling quite low and depressed at the time.  The GRoW Programme really helped me as it gave me the chance to just be myself for an hour and a half as there was a creche there at the Childrens Centre with childminders to look after my youngest.  It was just lovely to get that break away to think of myself for a change and I felt so much happier after the sessions and much more confident.

It was great to meet Saeema, my GRoW Adviser and we have had lots of conversations over the phone since we can’t meet up face-to-face.  I wish I had known about the GRoW Programme years ago when I first became a mum, I really needed some support at that time and I thought being at home was all I could do.  I wish I had known that I could train for something new and use my time more productively and have someone supporting me along the way.  It really has been a lifeline.”

Justina came to GRoW in July 2018 and has recently found work at a local Nursery as a Cleaner.

Justina said “When I first came to GRoW I was not in a good place, my daughter and I were living in temporary accommodation and I had no idea how to go about getting any help.  I felt so frustrated and distressed but Liz from GRoW took me in, calmed me down and told me everything would be fine. It was such a relief to have some support.

Liz encouraged me to work on improving my situation and she gave me so much help, even writing to an MP in Hayes to help me with my housing situation.  The Council moved me and I got involved with everything GRoW had to offer – I attended the Coffee Mornings and all the programmes which gave me information on things like claiming benefits I was entitled to. There were seminars on topics like how to work in schools and Liz helped to improve my CV which I hadn’t realised was so rubbish until she helped me write a new one!  Liz walked and talked me through every step to make sure I did it properly.

I applied for quite a few jobs but with my daughter being so young it was difficult to find a job that would fit around her.  I used to see all the cars in my area disappear every morning with people going off to work and I would sit at home and feel so lazy, like I should be out working, even my daughter would tell me I should get a job so I wasn’t just home all day.

One morning I decided enough was enough.  I googled all the schools in my area and I got on the phone to ring them all up.  I started with my daughter’s school, offering to volunteer but because of the COVID restrictions they couldn’t offer me anything.  I rang the next school that was closest to me and told them I was available to do absolutely anything they needed. They told me that their Cleaner had just left and would I be interested?  I jumped at the chance and following a face to face meeting I started the job the following week.  I am working 10 hours a week now and I just love it.  The staff are so friendly and nice and I feel like a new person.

The school is only 10 minutes from my home and from next year I would be looking for my daughter to attend the Reception there.  This would give me the opportunity to increase my hours and maybe look at doing other roles within the school too.  As the job is term time only it fits around my daughter which is perfect.

I will still keep in touch with my GRoW adviser and keep looking at the jobs they send me to see if there is other work I can do in addition to my cleaning job.  I have applied for jobs from the GRoW jobs bulletin before and did start working at a college in Uxbridge for people with learning disabilities earlier this year but the next week lockdown happened. I really enjoyed the job, they have called me since they reopened but I have told them I have another job now.   I could potentially go back to them in the future though if I can do both jobs.  I feel so much more positive now about the future and am so happy to be doing something better with my time.

Michelle was out of work while she was bringing her two children up but when her youngest child started full time school she came to the GRoW Programme to find out how to start getting ready for work again.

Michelle said “I heard about GRoW through my son’s school as we had a great Family Support Service that used to run regular coffee mornings for parents and they referred me to the programme.  They explained that it was free to join and, as the GRoW sessions were held in the school, would be really convenient for me to attend as I could come straight after dropping off my children at their classrooms.  I knew I would want to return to work once my youngest son started school but I had no idea about what I wanted to do.  I had been out of work for several years by then and was panicking about what it would be like to go back and I had lost a lot of confidence.

The GRoW Programme offered one session a week for four weeks followed by weekly meetings with my dedicated Adviser, Liz Sewell, and covered practical advice such as how to write a CV and interview techniques.  I found it really useful and it very quickly helped to build my confidence.  I was really pleased when Liz asked me if I would be interested in joining her team and work for GRoW, she recognised that I was really keen to start work and had got to know me well over the time I was on the programme.  She needed someone to call the GRoW clients to remind them of their appointments and she paid me a salary and covered my expenses.  What was really great was that she offered me the flexibility to carry out the role in the mornings to fit around taking my children to school and it was during Term Time only which meant I could be at home still with the children when they are on school holidays.

As I continued to work with GRoW the role further developed to include researching job opportunities for clients as well as managing my client list and as the job was part-time I was able to pursue other opportunities to progress my work experience.  I helped out at my sons’ school in the afternoon in a voluntary capacity as a Classroom Assistant, reading to the children and carrying out duties for the teachers such as photocopying.   When a vacancy became available for a School Midday Supervisory Assistant both Margaret from the Family Support Service and Liz helped me with the Application Form and Liz supplied a reference for me which was a huge help.  I was so pleased when I got the job!

I feel that I have been on a bit of a journey since attending the GRoW progamme.  I have progressed so much, not just with my confidence but with the experience, learning and knowledge I have picked up along the way with the volunteering and my role with the clients on the GRoW programme.

I now combine my work with GRoW with my SMSA role and I am also carrying out paid work in the afternoons at school helping children with special educational needs as a 1:1 Learning Support Assistant.  This is an area of work I am considering developing further in the future.  I am so happy with my work situation now, it’s great having a variety of jobs and to be working in roles where I am helping other people at the same time.

I think achieving success in your journey into work is largely down to just putting yourself out there and gaining confidence is the key to doing that.  Once you start doing something, anything, it gives you the confidence to do other things.  When I started on my journey to work I really didn’t know what I wanted to do but once I started doing something I just moved forward.  I am happy with the way things are, the two roles work perfectly around my two boys and I now my youngest is in Year 3 I’m thinking now about what my next steps should be and am looking at undertaking training.  I’m still not 100% sure of what I want to do in the future but I do know that I want to continue working with people and children, possibly in a counselling or advisory capacity or in Education.

The fact that I’ve been through the GRoW Programme myself has given me an insight and better understanding of my clients and I feel my experience has a positive influence on them.  I know how it feels and what it means to not have any confidence and it really helps me in my job to support these women.  If they hear that you have been in their position and understand their journey it gives them hope as if success can happen for me, it can happen for them too.

From my work with the ladies in GRoW I have recognised that the biggest barrier to them finding work is not having worked in so long, or not ever having worked before.  The main problem with this is that it has such a negative impact on their confidence.  GRoW helps to break down the steps to work so that it doesn’t overwhelm people and makes it easier for them to start their journey.  You can feel quite hopeless when you just don’t know where to start.  By signposting people to the places they need to go and supporting them to get there it makes it more manageable and achievable.  The difference you see in these women when they complete the programme is amazing, some of them are very timid when they start but the support they find through the networking opportunities with other people in the same position as them really helps to bring them out of their shell.  Just getting together with other likeminded individuals in one place to talk about the issues they have empowers them to look at ways to improve their lives.

I for one have found it so empowering and I’ve been able to develop what I call my ‘portfolio career’, wearing a range of different hats for my different roles and being able to juggle a successful career with bringing up my family.