Shining bright with confidence

Restart Scheme helps Nohaila to regain her confidence

Nohaila Suleiman, 52, first came to the UK to be closer to family in 2012 after working as a jeweller for over a decade in Jordan and Kuwait. She had spent eight years caring for her husband until he passed away in 2020, after which she soon joined the Restart Scheme in February 2022.

In Kingston, Maximus is working together with Reed in Partnership who supported Nohaila back into employment.

After becoming widowed, Nohaila had been looking for part-time roles that fitted around raising her two children. She soon met her Employment Advisor, Rajwinder Kaur, who described their initial meetings.

Rajwinder said: “It was immediately clear that Nohaila had very low confidence. She had been through a lot over the past few years and finding a job without work experience in that country is incredibly daunting.

“From the very first meeting I helped her to recognise that she was a great candidate for many roles, but she just needed to see that herself. After spending many years caring for her husband, so lacked a lot of social interaction. It

was clear that starting a job where she was part of a team would be beneficial.”

Rajwinder referred Nohaila to Wellbeing sessions that helped her with stress awareness, relaxation and sleeping techniques.

Nohaila explained the positive benefits of these sessions: “I was able to get in the right frame of mind for work. The sessions at the Kingston office were incredibly helpful to get me ready for applying for roles. Every time I came in for our meetings, I felt very welcomed. I appreciated all the help I was given through the Restart Scheme.”

The pair then set about creating Nohaila a professional CV, as well as referring her to online English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) sessions to improve her spoken English.

Rajwinder described: “These ESOL classes really helped to improve her confidence and showed her that she was more than capable of finding work.”

With further support, Nohaila learned how to search for jobs online. She successfully applied for a role as a school caterer and began the role in November. The Restart Scheme provided financial support to enable her to travel to her first shifts at the school.

Nohaila described how she is finding her first job in the UK: “I love the new job. The people I work with are amazing. It’s great to be able to work and socialise for the first time in some years. It’s been very good for my mental health, and I am incredibly thankful for the Restart Scheme.”

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