Confidence Grows at Oak Farm Bootcamp

Earlier this month, women from across Hillingdon took part in the Grow Bootcamp at Oak Farm Children’s Centre — a relaxed, two-hour personal development session designed to help participants reflect on where they are now, where they want to be, and the steps they can take to get there.

Led by Saeema Yusuf MIEP, the Bootcamp is the starting point of every Grow participant’s journey and is specially curated to motivate and help women make their next steps feel achievable.

We spoke to two participants from the session, Zehra and Jaswinder, about their experience — and how it’s helped them move forward.

“I came across very resilient women”

Zehra, who previously worked in human resources, was already looking for work when she was referred to the Grow programme at the children’s centre. She joined the Bootcamp while feeling unsure about her career direction.

“I think I went in with a very confused mind — should I progress further in HR or should I look into childminding?” she said. “So I thought maybe if I go in this programme, let’s see what happens.”

What Zehra found was a group of women from all walks of life, many of whom had professional careers before having children.

“I came across very resilient women. Some were about to do a PhD, some were teachers, some were dentists. People from very varied backgrounds came together and I think I learned from their resilience.”

The session helped her feel more confident in returning to HR.

“Just because I’m unable to secure a role for the past three months doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be in HR. It gave me a sense of clarity.”

Zehra also took part in Grow’s mock interview and CV sessions, which gave her some unexpected but useful insights.

“My CV never had a personal statement. After the training session that I attended with Mercedes, I got to know about the importance… all my CVs that I apply with now have a personal statement in it.”

She is continuing to attend Grow events, including coffee mornings and job search support, and has recently signed up for a Canva course.

“I learned how to represent myself”

Jaswinder found the Bootcamp a valuable and new experience. She was particularly encouraged by learning from the other women in the group.

“It helps you grow your confidence, and it gave you some good local ideas about how to represent yourself in front of others,” she said. “I learned a lot from the other ladies… how we can express ourselves.”

Before attending the session, Jaswinder said she had never really spoken up in a group setting. But after joining the Bootcamp, she found herself participating more confidently.

“It was a good experience to join that group and I learned a lot from the other ladies… I had a problem with expressing myself, but I’ve learned a lot from the group.”

She is now working towards her next steps, which include further training in functional skills, a Canva course and exploring health and social care in the future. Jaswinder also said “I am really very happy to learn that the Grow Programme also helps in providing a reference for work if we stay actively engaged with them for over 3 months which is really helpful for those ladies who have been staying at home to look after their child and have no reference.”

The Grow Bootcamp is a space where women are encouraged to focus on themselves, speak openly, and take the time to think clearly about their goals. If you haven’t attended yet, we urge all Grow participants to take part.

As Zehra said:

“It gave me a plan… What am I doing right now? Where do I want to be in the future? How can I get there?”