Helping Hafizullah into work
Here at Melin Homes, our dedicated Employment Team work through the year on helping our residents to train, get experience, improve their CV and ultimately find work or change career. It is a very challenging and rewarding part of what we do and in 2021 we helped 64 of our residents with the world of training and work.
Written by Will
—20 Jun, 2022
Every case is different, but perhaps none more so than that of one of our most recent employment successes…
Hafizullah’s story
Hafizullah Ashratee and his wife came to the UK in October 2021 after fleeing Afghanistan following the collapse of the Afghan government when Western armed forces pulled out of the country. In partnership with Monmouthsire County Council and the government’s resettlement scheme for Afghan refugees, Hafizullah and his wife were housed with Melin.
Hafizullah was keen to get into work as he was keen to support his wife who couldn’t speak English. However, he was faced with a lot of barriers that we were able to help him overcome. He needed assistance with getting the correct documentation so he could set up a bank account and then he needed the right qualifications in order to gain employment.
However, Hafizullah was determined and with the support of our Employment Team, he made fantastic progress. Not only did he obtain his Constriction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card (scoring an impressive 49/50!) and pass his traffic marshaller course, but he also improved his English and grew in confidence each day.
Finally, our team provided some help with Hafizullah’s CV and did some interview coaching with him before he applied for a job as a gatesperson with construction firm Lovell. He was successful in his interview and now works full time at our new Elderwood Parc development (formerly known as Crick Road) in Portskewett, Monmouthshire.
Speaking about his remarkable journey, Hafizullah said: “I had left Afghanistan at the time the government collapsed. When I arrived [in the UK] Melin Homes supported me a lot. They helped me prepare for two training courses, they provided transportation for [my] job interview and they provided my wife with a tablet so that she could study.”
What’s next for Hafizullah
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, Hafizullah was feeling optimistic, he said:
I have a lot of plans, I look forward to going on more courses and passing my driving licence so that I can progress further with my job at Lovell. [Elderwood Parc] is a big project and there are a lot of opportunities.
Working for Lovell at Elderwood Parc means that Hafizullah will be playing a role in the development of 269 new homes. These houses will be for rent, open-market sale and shared equity purchase. They will be built over the next five years, as Melin works in partnership with Candleston, Lovell and Monmouthshire County Council to tackle South-east Wales’ housing shortage.
Paula Skyrme, Employment Team Leader, was thrilled with how Hafizullah had overcome adversity to make a successful start to life in Wales. She said:
Hafizullah is excited for his future and was desperate to provide financial support to his wife who doesn’t speak English.
Paula continued: “He is delighted to now have the opportunity to earn enough money to send home to his parents in Afghanistan. He expressed his happiness in now being able to save for a holiday to take his wife to visit her family in the future.
“Hafizullah has always been remarkedly humble and grateful for the support offered by Melin and has been an absolute pleasure to work with for the past 5 months. He and his wife have shown incredible resilience having had to leave home and family so suddenly with only the clothes they stood in.
“I wish them all the best for a happy, healthy future.”
