In the second instalment of our new series on local people facing barriers to employment and how we can support them with their career, we spoke with Nasir Mohamed, from Acton Green.
Thanks to Ealing Council’s employment and skills team, Nasir has recently embarked on a career change.
Nasir, 30, previously worked in the telecommunications industry as a fibre optic network engineer, working with optical fibre networks for the internet, video, and voice services. But in 2021, he decided that he wanted to do something else.
“I wanted a career that was more rewarding financially, had better development prospects and offered a better work-life balance,” he told us.
“My previous roles didn’t have many options to move up, the only options were to become a manager or senior manager. It was also physically demanding and less well paid.”
A passion for technology
Although Nasir had lots of previous experience in engineering roles, he felt he hadn’t yet found the right position that brought together his problem-solving skills with his passion for technology.
“When I was thinking about what to do next, I looked into cloud operations developer roles,” he said. “I felt that my interest in technology and my problem-solving skills made this career path a perfect fit.”
After contacting his local job centre, Nasir found out about support available through the council’s employment and skills team and its careers hub. The council team discussed his options with him and helped him to access specialist training and find a suitable role for his skill set.
“I found out about the support the council offers through the job centre”, Nasir added. “The hub has specialist careers advisers, and my adviser Brian in particular helped me with career guidance and resources.
“I told him that I wanted to get into cloud computing, and we discussed possible ways to get my foot in the door. We looked at apprenticeships but at the time this was not the best fit for me, and we found a better route for my circumstances that meant I would be able to cover my bills and commitments.”
Nasir went on to be a cloud practitioner trainee, studying cloud computing and operating systems and gaining a certificate in Amazon Web Services. With the help of the council, he has now secured a 2-year fixed-term contract as an associate cloud operations engineer, at a local technology company.
‘I love the work I’m doing now’
Not only does his new job feed his passion for technology and offer a higher salary, it is also a great fit for his current needs and actively helps him to develop the skills he’ll need for career progression.
He said: “I love the work I’m doing now for a variety of reasons. I like the competitive salary, the ability to work from home and the significant investment in training and learning opportunities.”
Due to his training, Nasir now has a range of roles open to him in the future and plans to progress into more senior roles.
“I plan to gain more skills and become a more senior engineer. I am open to various opportunities as the field is very broad.
“The help I received at the start from the council was top-quality and very professional. The whole team at the careers hub was really helpful and supportive.”
Help is available
If you need help accessing employment, the council’s careers hub can help. From support with writing CVs to interview preparation, the hubs offer a range of services.
