Example of getting a better job
Abdul (not his real name) qualified as a nurse in Afghanistan and had six years experience in hospital nursing there. He was forced to escape when his family was attacked by the Taliban.
When he came to the UK he spoke very little English. Through an agency he found part time work in a warehouse where he earned just enough money to live on. He worked nights so he could carry on going to English classes.
To requalify in the UK nurses have to reach a very high standard in the IELTS English test. Although Abdul’s English wasn’t yet that fluent, after a while his English was good enough to apply for a job in a hospital as a Health Care Assistant, where his skills would be better used, and where he could get experience of how the National Health Service works.
At Refugee Resource we helped him use the internet to find Health Care Assistant vacancies in Oxford, and showed him how to fill in application forms to demonstrate how his previous experience related to the experience the hospitals were wanting. When he was offered an interview we did a practice interview at Refugee Resource. He wasn’t offered the first two jobs he went for, but he was offered the third.
Now he is working and going to IELTS classes offered by the hospital to help him towards requalifying as a nurse.