Last month, around 100 young people and over 50 employers and training providers attended the Mahdlo Jobs & Skills Fair, part of Oldham’s Festival of Work. It was an inspiring day for all involved and ties in closely with the Get A Job courses that run throughout the year at Mahdlo to ensure young people in Oldham have the skills and opportunities they need to get ahead in the world of work and training. We are delighted to share the following success stories:
Adam Howarth (pictured below) was in college studying Accountancy AAT and was looking for some practical work experience. He secured some work experience through Will Preston, our Employability and Enterprise Coordinator. Will helped Adam to develop his CV and use it to secure some voluntary work, and then invited him to the Jobs and Skills Fair.
“At the Mahdlo Jobs & Skills Fair, I found out about Betta Living, who had some potential vacancies they had and I emailed them my C.V. I was invited to an interview and they called me up within an hour of the interview and offered me a job as an assistant accountant. I have been offered much better pay than I could have ever imagined and I can continue with my studies while I am at work. I am very, very, pleased to say the least! My next challenge is to get my driving license and book a holiday to Ibiza with my first wage!”
Ruth Buckley (pictured below) had completed her university degree, specialising in Zoology, and had spent some time working in a number of voluntary placements – including tracking bats in Canada! On returning home, she started to volunteer at Mahdlo and got involved in the Jobs & Skills Fair.
“I was looking for any kind of work to help me pass my driving test. I found it quite difficult as it is time consuming and I had quite a lot of rejections. I volunteered to help at the Jobs & Skills Fair which gave me the opportunity to speak to all the employers there. I had an informal interview on the day with O2 and then a second interview at their offices. They rang me the same day to offer me the job!
I will be selling mobiles to people over the phone and I am looking forward to the new challenge. Being at Mahdlo for the Jobs & Skills Fair was brilliant as there were lots of opportunities in one place and I could speak to the employers in person.”
Nadia Parveen completed her university degree in Fashion Design at Bradford College struggled to find a job on returning to Oldham. After becoming frustrated with unemployment, Nadia joined the Get A Job course at Mahdlo. She said, “the best thing about the Get A Job course for me was improving my self-confidence, my CV and my interview skills – now I know what to say at interviews which is fantastic!” Nadia recently applied for a vacancy at Primark where she was interviewed – she received very positive feedback and has now started her training.
“I am a bit nervous because this is my first real job after university but I am very excited at the same time. If it was not for the Get A Job course I would not be in this position now.”
For more information about Mahdlo’s Get Ahead programme and Get A Job courses, contact Will Preston on Will.Preston@mahdloyz.org or 0161 785 4484.