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Fouziya's story: A prescription for success

Pluss Positive People - West Yorkshire 16 June 2022
Pharmacy

Twenty nine year old Fouziya used to be a pharmacist until personal circumstances, and the challenge of childcare, left her out of work.

Although she was keen to get back into employment, she was also apprehensive about prioritising work over her role as a parent.

Fouziya turned to Pluss’ Hopeful Families to see if they could help her find a role that wouldn’t compromise her childcare responsibilities.

“I found that many employers were not understanding of barriers that single mothers face,” she says. “I spent two years looking for an employer to give me a chance.

“My background was within pharmacy and, whilst I had many transferable skills, employers were reluctant to allow me to move into a new field without any previous experience.”

Little did Fouziya know that her luck was about to change.

Hopeful Families were really sympathetic and understanding of the challenges I was facing,” she says.

But she wasn’t expecting the next move. Hopeful Families usually work with people to offer support in helping them back into employment – but on this occasion, they actually offered Fouziya a job!

The right person for the job

“I was offered a role as a Family Mentor with them. I also enrolled on a training course for Safeguarding, Prevent and British Values at Wakefield College.

“They provided plenty of support and encouragement, with regular phone calls and contact. Erika, my Progression Coach, was fantastic. She frequently emailed me new opportunities that I could get involved in; not just employment but in other areas like fitness and health.

Hopeful Families helped me to overcome the challenges I faced in entering employment by firstly offering me a job, but also by taking a chance on me and working out a contract that suits my hours and childcare needs.”

Fouziya says having a job has also been good for her mental health.

“It’s nice to do something rewarding and to have that purpose in life.”

She also says that it’s helped with her social interaction as she had struggled with social anxiety from a very young age.

“I am finally in a stable job after a long break. I will be in a much better position financially which is such a concern with the rising prices of fuel and energy bills. I can give my daughter better opportunities and experiences too, now that I am more financially stable.”

Fouziya’s goals are to progress in her new field of work; “I really enjoy it. I’ve been wanting to move into third sector employment for a while.”

And she’s grateful for all the help, guidance and support from Hopeful Families; “I would like to give a big thank you to the whole team, and to Jill who is Senior Family Mentor and also the manager. She is fantastic and really compassionate and kind and has been great in giving me this opportunity and helping me settle in.”

Whilst not every participant will be lucky enough to end up working for the organisation they turn to for help, you can rest assured that Pluss’ Hopeful Families will always do everything they can to provide the tools and support to help you on your journey. Check out the link at the bottom of this page to find out more.

Welcome to the team, Fouziya!

#NoOneLeftBehind

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