Yevheniia Gets a Job and Training

Yevheniia moved to the UK from Ukraine in 2022 and is now working hard to gain experience and build a career in education. Through Grow she was encouraged to undertake a Level 1 Teaching Assistant Course with Runway Training and she has recently started working in a local pub as bar staff.

Yevheniia said “I moved to the UK in March 2022 from Ukraine. I worked at a university in my country and now I want to work in a school in the UK. I know I need to get experience and improve my English, so I am taking steps to do this.

Since joining Grow in the spring, I have taken part in many things. I really love the Grow App – it helps me so much. I even won a prize in the spring photo competition after sending a photo from Kew Gardens. That made me happy and gave me confidence.

I wanted to find a job and join some courses. At first, I wanted to do a childcare course, then one of the Grow advisers called me and told me about a Teaching Assistant course with Runway Training. I said yes straight away. I am now doing the Level 1 Teaching Assistant course – it is online and this is my second day. It is very useful and it is helping me feel more confident.

Because of this confidence, I went to a local pub and asked if they had a job. They said yes! Now I am working as bar staff. I started the job on the 8th of May. Before this, I worked as a cleaner and kitchen porter. This is my first job as bar staff, and I am learning new things.

The Grow team has helped me so much. Iryna is my adviser and she is very kind. She is Ukrainian and she helped me fill out forms and always gave me advice. All the Grow advisers are helpful. The Grow App is brilliant – I used it to prepare for my interview and I found many useful things there.

I want to keep learning and maybe do Level 2 Teaching Assistant course next. I also want to keep coming to Grow sessions like the coffee mornings as it makes me feel part of something and gives me support.