Bardita from Community Works shares her journey
Bardita Levinson works as an admin assistant within the Community Works for Health Team and shares her experience through the Community Works Programme
When I was made redundant due to the Covid-19 pandemic in October 2020, at first I was scared and very uncertain what I would do next. I had a steady job which I’d done for 6 years and had no plans to leave. After the initial shock, I realised that it actually gave me the opportunity to find out what I really wanted to do and where I would feel most happy spending my working hours. I knew I wanted to work for an organisation whose values I believe in and after some consideration I realised that the one I felt most aligned with was the NHS, as they are there to help everybody and really deliver.
At my next appointment at the Jobcentre I expressed my decision to work for Barts Health , my local NHS Trust and within few days I received details about a programme run by Newham College called Get into Healthcare, a three week programme, which included certificates in Employability, eSafety, First Aid and Adult Health and Social Care. Upon completing the programme in June 2021 Newham College forwarded my CV on to the Community Works for Health team at Barts Health NHS Trust. I was starting to get very excited as I now felt like I was in with a chance to prove myself and secure a long term career.
Once I was contacted by the CWfH team everything ran like clockwork, I passed my assessments, was successful with my interview for the 5 days training , which gave me invaluable knowledge about Barts Health NHS Trust, its policies and procedures, and most importantly how to apply for roles within the NHS and successfully write a supporting statement . This was one of the most important things that I learned, something I’d really been struggling with before. I was then added to the Barts Health Talent Pool in October 2021 and started receiving internal job vacancies that I now was eligible to apply for after completing the programme.
After the training I decided to also go for a work placement, as I thought it would be a good way to gain experience and I was lucky enough to get a place with the Community Works for Health team as Amin Assistant. I started on 27th October 2021 and proved myself with the skills and work I was assigned to do and now I have a paid job. In January 2022 I started working through Staff Bank within the same team, where I contribute to supporting other people like me who want to work for Barts Health.
I can say with honesty, so long as you put the commitment and hard work in, the results will come. I’m now looking forward to a long and satisfying career with an organisation that I can truly say that I am proud to work for.