Road to success – Faruk’s story

Faruk moved to the UK from Kosovo in 2021 and was struggling to find employment due to his limited English. He was referred to the Restart Scheme by his local Jobcentre Plus, for further support on improving his English speaking and writing to progress into work.

With extensive experience from his previous home in Kosovo in teaching and warehouse management, he felt that he needed to be given a chance and that many employers had stated his lack of spoken English would be a health and safety risk. Employment Adviser, Bradley, told us:

“in Faruk’s first appointment he could say no more than ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’, so we used a translation app to assist us in supporting him.”

As a priority, Bradley ensured that Faruk was set to improve on his English, which he completed an entry Level one and two in ESOL qualifications at a local college whilst on the Restart Scheme.

Bradley said:

“Faruk was always confident that his English would develop faster if he was in a working environment whilst persevering with his learning. The Restart Scheme funded a Forklift Truck course in English, which Faruk enjoyed and completed, obtaining his FLT certification.”

Alongside his studies, Faruk continued to attend Restart Scheme sessions to develop his employability skills with our in-house Skills Trainer. This is where a routeway opportunity with Akzo Nobel arose, Faruk fully embraced this and attended all sessions, including shadowing despite his still limited English.

Faruk was offered one of four vacancies from over 100 initial applicants, he told us:

“I am excited to get started at Akzo Nobel in my new role, so I can support my family and continue to develop my English language skills.