Gayatri Learns from her wealth of experience

Posted on by heathercette

Gayatri came to GRoW in March 2022 looking to improve her career progression opportunities.  She is currently working as a Customer Service Assistant/Price Controller in the retail sector but has a wealth of experience and skills that she wants to utilise in a corporate setting.

Gayatri said “I came to the UK from India around 14 years ago and have undertaken a variety of voluntary and paid jobs during that time. For the last 10 years I have worked for Sainsburys. It’s been rewarding and I’ve enjoyed it very much but I would really like now to work in a more corporate environment where I have the opportunity to do more work from home.

I was a qualified Primary School Teacher in my home country but when I moved to the UK, I left my teaching job behind and had to start again.  My husband and I first settled in Ipswich in Suffolk and I joined a voluntary organisation called Volunteering Matters (formerly CSV MediaClubHouse) where I did an ESOL course but very soon after, I started working with them as an instructor, teaching 60+ people how to learn basic technology and computer skills.  I then began to work with them as an Administrative Officer, registering people onto the courses.  During this time, I also worked as a Library Assistant Volunteer at Ipswich Suffolk Library and a Radio Anchor for Ipswich Community Radio!

My husband’s job is in IT and we have to relocate quite frequently which meant that in 2011 we moved to London and I was on the lookout for new work opportunities.  Coming to London, a big crowded city where everything was new again for me, was exciting and I quickly found a seasonal temporary job as a Mail Sorter for Royal Mail and then soon after I joined HESTIA as an Administrative Assistant Volunteer.  At Hestia, I was working mainly with Human Resources department and various other divisions and it was very rewarding.  When you work as a volunteer, it is a great learning opportunity, you are presented with new challenges every day and are learning something new all the time; it was great experience for me. I was nominated for more hours and was given a 500 hour a year reward.

After volunteering at Hestia for just over a year, I went to work for Sainsburys as a Customer Service Assistant but due to my enthusiasm my manager put me forward for a full-time position as a Price Controller in the Commercial Department.  It was an interesting job which was really fulfilling but when I learned I was expecting my first child, I wanted to reduce my hours.  My employer was really flexible, they said they didn’t want to lose me so they transferred me to a Customer Service Job on a part-time basis that would work better for my family.

My son is now in Primary School and so I like being able to work part time so that I can be there for him.  I’ve been able to combine my part-time job really well with my family commitments and at the same time, I have been able to get involved in other ventures too that I find interesting and rewarding.

I am someone who really enjoys helping people, sharing knowledge and skills so that other people can reach their full potential.  Something I am really passionate about is helping my community and I am really lucky to have been offered a job six months ago working with the London Borough of Hounslow as a Library Assistant. The job is so varied and I get lots of opportunities to help people. Outside of work, I have created other opportunities to help people.  I have set up two Facebook groups, one for men and women from my culture to meet and make introductions and another for women only which has 2000 members. I provide support to the above Facebook groups via separate Whatsapp Groups as well. I like to do community work because my grandfather also did the same, I have grown up around this environment and seen my family help people which has inspired me to do what I do currently in my community. My mother was a qualified teacher but did not work outside the home, however she taught me how to teach my own language and I am now putting this to  good use through her YouTube Channel (with 1 million channel views and over 350+ videos and growing) we have set up together where we teach Gujarati to people all over the world, free of charge.

My husband and I also have a YouTube Channel helping people to access basic technology, especially the older generation who can sometimes struggle and find it hard to trust.  We teach them things like how to download Zoom and how to use their smart phone.  I also love cooking and teach people my recipes via YouTube too.

As cooking is a great love of mine and my son is quite a fussy eater, I wrote a book called the Healthy Rainbow Caterpillar: A parent’s guide to healthy eating which I self-published and is available on Amazon (Book link). I am also helping my father who is a writer and keen poet to publish books of his own and so my spare time is often spent typing up his notes. I have also helped him publish his first book on Amazon too (Book link).

Both sides of my families are supportive of my work which motivates me to keep learning and growing.

Even though I am naturally a confident and motivated person, coming to GRoW has been a great experience for me as I have learned so much from the women there.  Liz, Khatera, Kaneez, Sonia and Saeema are such amazing people with such humility.  Being supported by them has felt very easy, not pushy.  They have worked with me all the way, listening to what I need and what I want and it has been a fantastic learning opportunity.  You always learn from the people you meet, from sharing their experiences.

I often write about things in my own language like ‘how to be happy in life’; I find that learning things from new people makes me happy.  Nobody knows everything, there is always something new to learn, even if it is just picking up on ways people present themselves.  For instance, Kaneez was the first person I spoke to from the GRoW Team when I signed up.  She gave such a fantastic first impression as she spoke so nicely, was kind and friendly. She listened and asked me to share my ideas. It was such a normal and relaxed conversation that put me at ease.

GRoW’s Sonia has helped me to improve my cv and they have also introduced me to Smart Works who has helped with interview clothes.  Almost every day there is a GRoW Workshop or Session I can join that I find really interesting.  I am learning all the time and it’s a great environment to be part of. I wish I had joined earlier but because I already had a job I didn’t think they GRoW could help me. Now, they are going to help me improve my work prospects so I can get a better job with better pay, hopefully working in a hybrid way so I can do more work from home.”

Mojisola Continues to GRoW through learning and development

Posted on by heathercette

Mojisola joined the GRoW Programme in Summer 2021 and has been an active and fully engaged participant, making use of all the learning opportunities available.

She has completed a range of courses and recently found work in a seasonal position at the Royal Mail.  Mojisola is now studying for a Level 3 Helping in School and Colleges Course through WEA.

Mojisola said “I had already completed a Level 2 Helping in Schools and Colleges course before I joined GRoW and it really inspired me to move on and do the Level 3.  I felt it was really important to get the main qualification if I am serious about finding my dream job of becoming a Teaching Assistant.

Working in a school is really important to me as I have young children and I want to be able to work when they at school and have the holidays to spend time with them.  Everything I am doing now is to help me reach that goal.  Since joining GRoW I have undertaken a Food Safety and Hygiene Course and a Level 1 Safeguarding course and since May 2021 I have been working on a voluntary basis in a local school which is not only great experience but is also a requirement of my Level 3 course to do a placement.  I work with Year 5 children, supporting them with their maths, spelling and writing and also supervising them at lunchtimes.  I really enjoy it.

Now I have finished the job at Royal Mail I am really keen to find another job but I need to ensure it does not affect my studies.  I do my study work twice a week and my placement twice a week so I need to find a part time job which is evenings only.

The level 3 course is all online and we work as a collective group completing tasks.  We also have a Whatsapp group which is a great support as it enables students to speak to each other if we need help or additional materials.  It is really interesting and something I have always wanted to do.

The GRoW Team are so encouraging.  They have helped me see what I need to do to get where I want to be.  Even though I can apply for a job today that will help my financial position they have enabled me to understand that I need to build my knowledge and skills with new learning and training if I want to progress and get somewhere.  I am happy now to do any job in order to boost my finances but my studies are more important and I need to find work that fits in with that so that I am in a better position in the future.  GRoW have helped me see that you sometimes have to sacrifice something to get where you want to be in the future.

I really appreciate everything GRoW are doing for me and for all the other women they support.  They do everything they can to make sure you don’t give up.  They check on you to make sure you are ok and are getting the support you need.  Mostly, they take your fear away from you to do better and are so supportive and motivating.”

Saeema Champions the importance of learning for all

Posted on by heathercette

Saeema is an Engagement Adviser at GRoW and first came to us in 2017 when she was getting ready to go back to work and went through the GRoW Programme herself as a participant.  An advocate for learning new skills and personal and professional progression Saeema has embraced a range or training and learning opportunities and is championing the importance of continued development for all.

Saeema said “I know it’s not always easy to find time to do extra learning but there are many ways you can learn, it’s not always time consuming and if you discipline yourself anything is possible. I am a busy person – I work part time, I’m a mum to four children and am also a carer but despite this I believe that it is really important for me to find ways to develop myself further and when I set my mind to something that I want to achieve then really there’s no stopping me.

Since joining GRoW I have undertaken a range of training, most recently the IEP Sector Accredited Induction which is a Level 2 online learning course for employability practitioners.  This course has been invaluable to me in my role as an Engagement Adviser, giving me a much better understanding of how to do my job.  It was very well written and as it was also interactive it was actually quite fun to do. To help motivate myself I set myself a goal to finish the course before the Summer started.  I completed a different module every evening, some were longer than others and took longer to digest however. Something I learned while doing the course was just how much I didn’t know!  The course taught me new ideas and practical advice to try in my job and it was a great way to develop myself.

During the first lockdown in 2020 I did a Level 2 course on Information, Advice and Guidance which has helped me structure myself with the clients I support.  The course was provided by the Skills Network and it was really very good.  Even though I had many additional responsibilities during lockdown such as homeschooling, caring full time and a busy workload I felt it was important, especially during that time with all the restrictions we were living with, to stretch my mind and do something for myself.  It has really helped to improve my knowledge so I can do my job better which has given me a lot more confidence.

As well as achieving these qualifications I have taken advantage of other learning opportunities.  For example, as part of my job I started working with the Hillingdon Women’s Centre on their Workplace Safespace project which aims to support survivors of domestic abuse.  Because of my work commitments I couldn’t attend their live sessions but in my own time I was able to get up to speed with everything they were doing as they shared materials with me via email.  Being part of this project was so beneficial to me as it gave me such an insight into how to better support people experiencing domestic abuse and how best to approach the subject.  I gained lots of knowledge through the project which made me feel far more comfortable about how to speak to people experiencing domestic abuse and who to refer them to make sure they received the right support.

Recently GRoW, as a community organisation, were approached by the London Borough of Hillingdon and MOPAC (Mayor of London Policing Committee) to be part of their Hate Crime programme.  As part of the programme I undertook a 4 week online training course which I did on top of my working hours.  It was really informative, explaining what Hate Crime is and how to support people in the community who have experienced it.  As part of the training my role is to work with other organisations who are part of the project to help build trust in the community so people feel more comfortable talking about hate crime and break down barriers to reporting it. It was really nice to be learning with other community leaders and find out how they work and how hate crime affects them.  The training sessions were all held during live sessions online and we had guest speakers, representatives from the Counter Terrorism Department, Police Officers and support agencies in attendance. Now I have completed the course I am an official Hate Crime Upstander and the Council keep me and the other community organisations up to date about incidents in the borough and brief us on what is happening and how best to communicate it to make people feel safer.  I was really proud to be invited to the Hillingdon Civic Centre recently to be awarded my Certificate and it was great to be able to meet up with the other community organisations on the day and see my colleagues in person.

The London Borough of Hillingdon also hold a Covid-19 meeting once a month which I am now part of.  They give us a summary about incidents such as new variants and inform us of the measures that will be put in place, what each of us can do to help the situation and to share thoughts and opinions.  I am really happy to be part of the meeting and to help clients, especially those with language barriers, to ensure they are keeping themselves as safe as possible.

Despite 2020-2021 being very challenging, they have been good years for me both personally and professionally.  So much has changed with Covid and we had to very quickly change and adapt to new ways of working and to build different relationships with clients.  Doing these courses have really helped me do that. I feel more able to quickly adapt, to be flexible and I also feel more confident due to the knowledge and skills I’ve learned. I am better at my job now as a result which means I can support and advise people better to make sure they get the right support.

Taking advantage of learning opportunities is something I truly believe everyone can and should do.  Not only does it build your confidence, it enriches you as a person and motivates you to do more.  If I can do it, anyone can!”

We’ve Won! Belina GRoW scoops prestigious ERSA award

Posted on by heathercette

Belina GRoW has triumphed at the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) Employability Awards 2021, winning the Team of the Year – Innovation category.

Now in their ninth year, the awards celebrate best practice across the employment support sector. From stand-out frontline staff, job seeking achievements and exemplary employers; to teams and communities pulling together in the most extraordinary of times, in 2021 the awards epitomise the very best of rising to ‘The Covid Employability Challenge’.

Belina GRoW’s award for innovation was in recognition of our GRoW App which has revolutionised employment support for our participants, moving them into work faster. The App is there 24 hours a day – it is immediate and interactive and means specialist work can be accessed by a much wider group than through physical venues.

You can watch a video about how our app is helping GRoW participants here: https://getreadyforwork.org/ersa-awards-the-grow-app-innovation/

We were pleased to share award with Joint Winners, Team Pie which is the newest venture from Unity Works which supports people with a learning disability to gain skills and jobs.

This year the awards, supported by lead sponsors Cognisoft and Clarion Futures, received 200 entries from across the UK. The winners were announced online on Thursday, November 25.

GRoW Founder and MD Liz Sewell FIEP said “We are so thrilled to have won this award and for our GRoW app to be recognized as making such a difference to our participants’ employability prospects.  We are building a community at GRoW and our app is absolutely central to that, it is enabling us to create stronger relationships and is improving engagement in a way we have not been able to do before.  We are so pleased to be able to share our success story with the whole employability sector as an inspirational message that embracing technology in the way that we have has enabled us to grow and achieve so much more for the people we are supporting.”

Elizabeth Taylor, ERSA CEO said: “The response to the ERSA Employability Awards has been extraordinary in this challenging year, and we are hugely impressed with the dedication and resourcefulness all the entrants have shown. The standard this year was beyond our expectations and we are immensely proud to announce our worthy winners.”

“Thank you to all those who entered – you should be incredibly proud of your achievements – and a huge well done to all the winners.”

Kamini got the job!

Posted on by heathercette

In last week’s newsletter we featured Kamini who was looking forward to an interview later that week as an Exam Invigilator for Harrow and Uxbridge Council.  This week we are delighted to be able to tell you that she got the job!

Kamini said: ‘The interview actually had to be postponed three times as I could not connect to Zoom on my phone.  I was really concerned that after the trouble with me trying to access the interview that they wouldn’t be interested in me but it didn’t work out that way fortunately!  After the three attempts I ended up going to a friend’s house and using her computer which was a huge relief for me as it worked perfectly.  I apologised profusely for the problems with my phone and luckily for me they were very understanding.

I am glad I went on Sonia’s Interview Workshop prior to having the interview as it really put me at ease.  I spent some time practicing in front of the mirror in the days before so that I could make sure I was coming across well.  So many of the questions that came up during the interview were similar to those that I had run through with Sonia and so I felt prepared to answer them in a confident way.  I didn’t have to think too much about the answers because I already knew what I wanted to say.  The only thing I had to keep telling myself was to keep calm and slow down.

There were two interviewers and they gave me a lot of details about the job, explaining where I would work and taking me through health and safety measures that I would need to be aware of.  I have previous experience of working as an Exam Invigilator but it was around 10 years ago.  I have a NVQ Level 3 and chose Invigilating as a topic and so this was a bonus for me at the interview as they did ask about my qualifications.

Before the interview I was so scared that they might ask me something I didn’t know the answer to but that wasn’t actually a problem, I felt I answered everything fully, I just needed to keep myself from being too overexcited and let the interview flow.

At the end of the interview they told me that they would let me know of the results the following week but they actually contacted me the next day to tell me I had the job.  It was a massive boost to my self esteem and I now feel really motivated to see what else I can do job-wise.  The Invigilator job will not start until September and so I am now going to look for another job that I can do in the meantime or even combine two jobs as the Invigilator post is flexible hours. I have seen a part-time Learning Support Assistant job in a school which I’m looking at applying for.

What I’ve learned from this experience is that everything is possible if you are determined. It’s never too late to achieve what you want, just be positive and take the chance.

Belina Get Ready for Work join IEP as Corporate Affiliate Partners

Posted on by heathercette

Belina Get Ready for Work are delighted to announce that we have joined the Institute of Employability Professionals as Corporate Affiliate Partners.

The IEP is the membership body for employability professionals. They are dedicated to supporting the people who support others gain work, progress in work and retain work.  IEP’s vision is ‘Employability professionals everywhere are the best they can be’ and their purpose is to empower individuals to perform to a professional standard, champion employability as a recognised profession, secure employer recognition and create a network of opportunity.

Belina Get Ready for Work is an award-winning Training & Development organisation running intensive confidence-building, motivation and employability programmes for women, their advisers and employers. They work across London on programmes for the DWP, EFSA, Community Fund and the MOJ. Belina run end to end programmes and offer specialist interventions, on their main employability programme and their retention rate at 26 weeks employment is 90%.

Partnership is at the heart of Belina’s approach, believing that it is by working together that they best support their participants. Their partnership with Canning Town Job Centre Plus has just been rewarded with a 2020 ERSA National Employability Award.

Speaking of joining the IEP, Belina Director Liz Sewell FIEP said; “As a Fellow of the IEP I get so much from being part of the IEP, I wanted my team to have that too – access to training, ideas and networks and more. During lockdown the IEP has offered individuals the chance to be part of the national debate and my team have lots to say and learn from that.”

“Belina’s vision is for a world where women feel confident about going back to work and realise the benefit to themselves and their children for the long term. Our innovative approach, as evidenced in our acclaimed GRoW Programme, is forged in mutual-respect and engagement and brings diverse communities together to nurture, learn from and support each other to help them determine their own lives and empower them to make a positive change.”

Belina are passionate about making women of all backgrounds and circumstances feel valued and resilient, and to help them use their transferrable skills to return to work. They help them realise the value of the skills they’ve gained as parents and show them how those skills can translate into a meaningful long-term career.

Belina’s experienced team work closely with women to build their confidence and raise their aspirations so they can consider a life beyond day-to-day survival. They help identify what they really enjoy about their current lives and what they want to change; challenge their perceptions of the barriers they face and encourage them to embark on a new and positive journey, taking small steps to improve their lives and think about what they want to achieve. 9 of Belina’s 11 staff came through their GRoW programme and have the same lived experience as the people they support – women with complex barriers to work.

Since 2004 Belina have helped improve the employability, skills and prospects of thousands of women, offering an open service to all and providing tailored support to address people’s specific needs.

They currently have active programmes supporting women in Hillingdon, Newham, Islington and Croydon and have created partnerships with Local Government, Housing Associations, Family Information Services, Child Poverty Teams, Employability Services, DWP, Children’s Centres, Charities, local schools, Job Centre Plus and agencies and organisations including London Development Agency, Uxbridge College, Gingerbread, Paddington Development Trust and Outreach Services to help our participants access support from the wider community.

Belina offer a range of support and run regular events with their partners and participants offering advice around issues such as Universal Credit and to develop skills and education through courses such as ESOL, retail, employability, leadership skills and IT. They also engage with employers to help their participants gain practical advice about what is available in the workplace.

http://www.getreadyforwork.org

GRoW in your language

Posted on by Liz Sewell

We have  Mums who speak many different languages on the programme

The message below says – The GRoW team and family is here to help you if (YOUR LANGUAGE) is your first language like this post and we will contact you to put you in touch with other mums.

Can you help us by adding new languages?

And are you happy to be in a GRoW Whatsapp group to keep in touch with other mums?

Urdu
Hi ya grow team aur grow family app log ki madad kargi agar app ki phali language urdu ya hindi hai to app log ya group join karsaktay ho😊

Hindi
The Grow(Get ready of work)  samooh aur parivaar ap Sabhi ke madad liye hai,agar ap ki pahli bhasa hindi hai

Gujrati
Hi Grow team and family jo tamri bhada gujrati hoi to grow me joit Thai sako chho tamne grow banti madad karse

Arabic
Ida konta torido alindimam ila majmouaat whatsapp liloumahat almoutakalimat bilarabiya fi fatrat alhajr alsihi arjou minka aldhaght hona.

Romanian
Echipa şi familia “The Grow” este aici pentru a te ajuta. Dacă Limba Română este limba ta maternă ca şi acest post noi te vom contacta să te punem în legătură cu alte mămici.

Want to join in  You should be on a GRoW programme already.  We will contact you and help to find other mums who speak your language.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Liz Sewell FIEP Speaks at Summit

Posted on by heathercette

Belina director Liz Sewell FIEP took centre stage at the recent IEP Summit, an industry event for senior employability professionals to discuss and debate the future of work and the challenges and priorities facing the employability sector now and in the years ahead.

Liz presented alongside Dr Jo Ingold, Associate Professor of Human Resource Management & Public Policy at Leeds University Business School on the subject of employer engagement and the fact that despite the UK having the highest ever recorded employment and lowest unemployment rates that many people still struggle to get into, and stay in, work that has decent pay and conditions. 

Liz said “I absolutely advocate alternative thinking in employment practice, such as term time only working and providing people with free ESOL and functional skills learning. At Belina we support many women who face challenges such as being lone parents and not having English as their first language.  They want to work and have many skills that would benefit employers but employers need to recognise that a more flexible approach is needed to make work work for everyone.  We also need to find ways for smaller organisations to engage with employers.”

“I was delighted to be involved in the IEP Summit to debate these important issues with people who are so passionate about employability and improving people’s lives.”

Focus Group in Hillingdon –  a discussion with single parents about universal credit rules to look for when their children are pre-school age

Posted on by heathercette

by Laura Dewar, Policy Officer, Gingerbread

In the middle of November GrOW kindly hosted a focus group of single parents at a library in Hillingdon.  There are just under 100,000 single parents who have moved onto universal credit in London and new rules for those with pre-school children to become job seekers.   The purpose of the focus group was to talk with single parents with young children about the practicalities of moving into work.  Gingerbread has just started a year-long research project on this issue and the focus group was an opportunity to hear about the key issues.  

Whilst single parents were keen to work they also thought that there were few part-time jobs to apply for and had concerns about childcare matching jobs.  Single parents talked about most jobs being advertised full-time.  There was fierce competition for any job advertised within school hours and these jobs were rare. Single parents also talked about the difficulty of having to deal with the on-line journal and apply for jobs on-line.  Most of the parents do not have a personal computer and have to rely on applying for jobs from their phone.  The technology is limited and it can be hard to complete applications on a mobile phone.  Single parents talked of the difficulty of jobcentres not allowing access to computers.

In terms of childcare single parents talked about the high cost of childcare for pre-school children. A single parent talked about her son being happily in nursery of fifteen hours but if she moved into a job, and she accessed the thirty hours of free childcare, that there was not space for her to do that at his nursery.  So if she moved into work she would have to change her son’s childcare (and she does not know if there are places elsewhere) and settle him into a new setting when he was happy at his current nursery.

The single parents who had already moved onto Universal Credit were not aware that there were different rules for those with pre-school aged children.  They were just told to find a job of at least sixteen hours.  None were told about the flexibility that could allow them to train for up to a year.  A single parent was at university.  She felt under pressure under universal credit to look for work even though she is studying. The single parent gets some help with her childcare costs but has to work as a cleaner at the weekends in order to meet the shortfall in childcare costs.

Single parents in the group were unclear how much money they would keep when they moved into a job. Work coaches did not provide calculations in how much better off you might be if you moved into work.

A number of the single parents have children with disabilities and claimed additional benefits to support their child. There was a lack of knowledge about how much these single parents could work before they lost benefits.  Again the financial gains of working were not made clear by work coaches.

The focus group was a valuable way of talking with single parents about universal credit.  The single parents shared their experience of looking for a job, accessing childcare and the jobcentre.   The single parents were keen to work (many thought this was more reasonable when their children were at school age) or to study to improve their job prospects.  Many were left confused by the universal credit rules and how much better off or not they would be moving into work.  The focus group was a vital first step in Gingerbread’s research project and we are incredibly grateful to the single parents who shared their lived experience.

Laura Dewar, Policy Officer, Gingerbread

 

 

 

 

 

Back to work after 16 years!

Posted on by heathercette

Saeema Yusuf was planning to get back to work once her daughter had started full-time school.  In preparation, she joined the GROW Programme 2 years ago, giving her time to boost her skills and try to build her confidence into the world of work.  We spoke to Saeema about her journey with GRoW.

“Being a full-time mum to four children as well as a full-time carer can isolate you from the real world.  I found it very difficult to engage in any outside activities and always felt that I couldn’t do anything for myself but thanks to GRoW I found a way out.  GRoW was just what I needed, it helped to not only boost my confidence and conversational skills but made me realise that I can achieve anything I want to achieve.

GRoW brought me together with other women and we all helped each other in the course to talk about what we wanted to achieve and how to get there.  This led to practical advice on job applications, CVs and interviews. It helped me to focus on taking the next steps.

By the end of the programme, I took the initiative by applying for a position at Brunel University as a Student Information Adviser but unfortunately was not selected – for me, completing the application was a positive first step after 16 years out of the job market!

This year, I saw an ideal opportunity – working on the GRoW programme itself! I saw the job advert on the GRoW website and thought it was a great chance to practice my job search and application skills –  and if nothing else I would get some quality feedback. The application and interview was challenging but I used the techniques I learned on the programme, and I was delighted to be selected.

These days I am busier than ever.  I’m still a full-time mum and full-time carer, but now also a part-time Engagement Adviser.  My role involves networking with organisations in Hillingdon and making sure GRoW’s achievements are recognised. I get so much out of meeting amazing women who want to achieve more in their lives and helping them to choose training and skills that is right for them.

This job has also given me the opportunity to visit the Hillingdon Expo 2019 which was held at Brunel University and gave me the chance to put my skills to the test.  It was an amazing day and I learnt so much.

Recently, I took GRoW to Hillingdon’s Carer’s Fair 2019 which was the first time GRoW was in view of the public in this way.  We generated really good interest and made good connections with other organisations.

It’s been amazing not only taking part in the GRoW programme but working for GRoW and there’s lots of opportunities to come.

GROW is a rewarding programme to come on to and I’m so glad I took the chance to come on board. Thank you GRoW!!”