Believing in myself

Abdul* had experienced time in hospital receiving secondary mental health care, but when the time felt right, he was referred to Twining Enterprise.  His CV was incredibly strong with years of experience and good qualifications, but he was looking for support to feel confident in his own skills and what he brought to a competitive jobs market.  He worked with three Employment Specialists, all of whom helped to build up Abdul’s confidence and he now finds himself on the cusp of being a fully qualified electrician.  Here he tells us his story in his own words…

I was originally referred to Twining Enterprise by my psychiatrist, when I was receiving secondary mental health care support.  In my time working with Twining, I’ve worked alongside three Employment Specialists – Oliver, Anoushka and Pat.  All have been fantastic in giving me good support – boosting my confidence and making me feel like I do have the skills and experience to get out there and find good, well paid, work.

My background is nine years working in maintenance and three years of experience in electrical work.  My main career goal was to go back and train to be a fully qualified electrician.

My first Employment Specialist, Oliver, really helped me to work on my CV, to help it generate more responses and feedback from potential employers.  In fact, all my Employment Specialists emphasised selling my CV on the substantial experience I had in different roles.  Anoushka and Pat both made me feel really confident in what I had to offer employers.  They kept emphasising that my skills in electrical maintenance were strong and I should be confident and proud of that.  This helped me to feel better about my CV!

As well as supporting me with my CV, they also helped me to practice for real job interviews by giving me mock interviews, so I could practice answering questions and get feedback in real time.  They taught me different methods of answering questions and underlined the importance of giving specific examples of how I had solved real electrical problems.  It really helped me to practice how to showcase my experience in this area.

My Employment Specialists also told me about organisations like Haringey Works, which advertise local jobs which you may not find on other job boards.  They also advised me to go for jobs which had a more in-depth recruitment processes, as not as many people might be going for these. It just felt like strong strategic advice which helped me to feel more confident in my job search.

It was all happening at a tricky time though – I was 6 months away from finishing my apprenticeship when I got made redundant.  However, I really wanted to find another apprenticeship sponsor and I managed that with Twining’s support.  I found a company who helps you complete short term apprenticeships, and I got a placement.  I really wanted to see my apprenticeship through to the end, so this was amazing.  Now I’m just waiting to finish my electrical qualifications so I can go out and be an electrician working in the maintenance industry.  I’m looking forward to starting!

Work is so important to me – it has been so powerful for my own healing and mental health recovery.  Not only do you get out every day and socialise with people… you also get paid for it!  Earning your own money helps to get your self-respect back too.  Securing good employment has been a critical part of my mental health recovery journey.

Both Anoushka and Pat were really great to work with!  Anoushka helped to build my confidence and Pat just told me to go out and go for it!  Be confident in your CV and just go out and get it.  I am so grateful for the support all of my Twining Employment Specialists have given me and I can’t wait to start my new career chapter!

*Picture changed to protect client anonymity