Portrait of a Job Finder
Beata Malek knows what it’s like to look for work in a new sector – and even a new country. “I remember what it was like, coming here and trying to approach employers in English. But I tell learners they have to bite the bullet.”
If anyone knows the gumption you need to find a job, it’s Beata Malek. When she finished school in her native Poland, she found a job selling vacuum cleaners from village to village. But the pay was poor, and she was chased by goats. So, armed with a Baccalaureate and English learned as a child from Sesame Street, she set out for the UK. Waitressing and pub work followed, then – as she built contacts and confidence – office temping, events management and marketing, with a stint in Greece to set up a launderette.
These days her job at JGA is to help others find similar openings, and find the drive to pursue them. She talks to employers about potential jobs, lines up JGA learners and provides them with support once they’ve started. She also sets up voluntary placements for jobseekers, breaking the cycle of needing experience to get a job, but a job to get experience.
Keep on running
One group of jobseekers on JGA’s 15-week Employability Skills Programme (ESP) wanted to work in security. Last month’s London Marathon needed stewards, so Beata set up voluntary placements for JGA learners to supervise the crowds.
“I knew that having experience working with the police would bring them a step closer to that kind of work, so while we were there I introduced them to as many people as I could,” she says. “They were brilliant - and they realised it was something they could be good at.” Some learners are now preparing for the Olympics with an NVQ in Crowd Marshalling and Stewarding.
Starting again
There are people on the Employability Skills Programme who, while learning how to write a CV or fill in an application form, are starting again in other ways too. Two women on ESP, who in their native country had returned from work one day to find gunmen in their home, were forced to leave without passports or belongings.
“If a door slammed, they would get upset,” Beata explains. “More than once, I have cried with a candidate over what they have gone through – losing their family, or fleeing their country. People get here and realise, ‘I’m safe now, I don’t have to fear for my life, I can concentrate on getting work.’ ”
Jobcentre Plus also provides jobseekers with employment support, but Jobcentres are now such busy places. At JGA, staff like Beata have more time to get to know jobseekers.
Beata believes, “When people aren’t ready for a job, you can’t rush it; if you do and they have a bad experience, they’ll be less confident and may have a negative attitude towards work, so their situation could get worse.”
Instead, Beata and her colleagues work to identify what’s really keeping someone out of work – whether it’s lack of numeracy skills, fear of office technology or a bad experience in the past. These issues are tackled so that when they do get a job, they can keep it and flourish.
Find out more:
Employability Skills Programme: Could you benefit from Beata's expertise?
Career Advantage: Beata also works on this course for professionals, managers and technical and administrative specialists who are looking for work.
