“When I was doing the course I felt good”

Mum of 4, Syeda, is actively seeking employment opportunities. However, with no qualifications or experience, finding a job is proving to be incredibly tough and demotivating.

The 6-week IT training Success4All provided Syeda with has allowed her to not only help her children with homeschooling but also to upskill and uplift her spirit.

In our brief encounter, Syeda opened up about her struggles of yearning for a job only to be met with rejection as well as her newfound optimism that the training has given her.

This is her story:

I think I read about it on Facebook, and what caught my eye was it said it was going to help with homeschooling. In the first lockdown, my kids did some work, but I was concerned that they’d fall behind.

I thought if I do this training, it might help me better understand what they were doing.

I know how to use Gmail, but I didn’t know how to use Jamboard and Slides, and I didn’t know that you could work on a document together with someone else. Now I do.

I did my level 2 maths and English, and every so often, I forget, then when I recap things, it’s like okay, so this is how you do it. It doesn’t make it easier, but it does help to practise and I think this course was good for people like me. I do know a bit of the basics, but going over certain things was helpful.

I’d like to find something, I’d like to do something because, when I was doing the course I felt good, but when I’m not doing anything, I just feel useless.

I’d like to go into admin but because I have no qualifications it’s hard. Hopefully, I find something.

With her newfound confidence, Syeda is now actively exploring other courses that will help her achieve her dream job in admin.

This project was funded by the Frontline Women’s Fund in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund.

Disclaimer: The woman photographed is NOT Syeda.