My name is Ahmed* and I am from Iraq. I am married and have children. I arrived in the UK in 2020 during the Covid 19 pandemic, so we had to quarantine for 21 days.
In Iraq, I was an engineer, which in the UK is on the shortage occupation list. This meant that while I was waiting for my asylum claim to be decided, I was able to apply for a work permit.
During this time, I also studied for a Master’s degree in Smart Grids and Energy Systems at Bradford University. And I enrolled in Bury College and Bury Learning Centre, which were near where I was living, to improve my language skills and learn more about the UK culture. I felt it was very important, as someone who had just arrived in the UK, to understand what to do, the right and wrong things, because it is a totally different culture.
Taking the first steps to employment
It was through Bury College that I learned about Breaking Barriers. Although I was an asylum seeker, I had received my work permit through the Home Office, so Breaking Barriers could accordingly help me find a job.
When I first met Amee from the Breaking Barriers team, she asked me questions so that she could allocate me the right support. When I told her that my field was engineering, she told me about some companies that they worked with, and one of them was Cummins.
Cummins had a six-month RePower programme, for someone who had a gap in employment of more than two years. So, I told Breaking Barriers that I wanted to apply for Repower. This was the first step. The second step was that a volunteer from Breaking Barriers helped me build a good CV. I submitted the application with their support. The next step, once Cummins shortlisted my application, was that they helped me prepare for an interview. They prepared me for what kind of questions might come up and how to deal with those questions.
The interview was not easy. I had two separate, two-hour interviews. It was difficult, but the preparation helped me to be confident. I believe without Breaking Barriers’ support, I would not have secured the Cummins job.
Getting this job gave me financial freedom, because we could choose our house to live in and I could afford more for my children. For myself, I gained confidence within the community. It has given me confidence to carry on and to improve myself.
Ahmed
Navigating the workplace
There were many differences I noticed when I started working at Cummins, compared to my overseas experience. Language was one, also culture, the type of research and development that was taking place, the software being used, the acronyms. The first three months were a challenge to understand what was going on and what they were doing.
But I put in hard work. I spent a lot of hours outside of my normal day to research, to understand the definitions, to understand the products, the software, to meet people, to learn what to say in meetings, to learn how to drive a meeting, how to deal with meeting outcomes and how to deliver ideas. It was a challenge.
After my six-month programme came to an end, my manager told me that they would keep me and offer me a full-time contract.
Recently, the team at Cummins has been creating a guide called ‘Step into Engineering’ for Breaking Barriers. It is a guide for people who want to engage in different fields of engineering. Working in a group of three, I have been researching and writing part of the guide called Managing Expectations of a Client and Considering a Plan B, which offers a strategic action plan.
Finding freedom
I was homesick for years. But getting this job gave me financialfreedom, because we could choose our house to live in and I could afford more for my children. For myself, I gained confidence within the community. It has given me confidence to carry on and to improve myself.
In the future I hope to get a PhD, if I get the opportunity. But my aim is to improve myself within Cummins and my field.
I would 100% recommend Breaking Barriers. It offers a lot of services and a friendly team. I am happy to give any support or do volunteering for Breaking Barriers, because the team supported me a lot. It does a great job for the community.
