Khan came to the UK to live with his wife but he came on as a visitor visa so he had to go back to Pakistan. Eventually he got a spouse visa but it didn’t take him long to realise that job prospects were not what he thought they were. His wife was friends with my wife and she made a referral to me because she knew I was an employment advisor.
Khan has a lot of work experience and qualifications but they are not recognised here, a Masters in Pakistan is the same as an Honours degree in England. He has looked for work outside of his field because he knew that he wouldn’t get the type of work that he has done previously. In Pakistan he was a teacher and here he had been self employed selling sports goods but the competition was too big.
Khan’s wife was working and supporting the family inspite of her health problems. Khan now needed to take over and be the main breadwinner.
Khan did not have a CV or references. I told him that working culture is different in England and we need to start with a CV. Khan was confident that he had all the experience he needed and would not need help with interviews etc.
At the first Interview Skills Workshop Khan’s eyes were opened to the way things are done in this country and afterwards told me that he would never have passed an interview in a hundred years if he hadn’t done the workshop.
To get references he agreed to do some voluntary work at the QE through Gateway and he got all the training that went with the volunteering job. He now has something to put on his CV and he has now got a job in a factory. It is not what he wanted but he is bringing home a wage and supporting his family.
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