Peacekeeping Kawsu finds success with support from Fair Start Scotland

After years of peacekeeping, Kawsu moves to Scotland for a new life but struggled to settle in and find a job. With the help from Fair Start Scotland, Kawsu now has a full-time job and calls Scotland his second home.

Why Kawsu joined Fair Start Scotland?

Kawsu moved to Scotland from Gambia in 2017 after serving in the military for The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) peacekeeping in Sudan. Kawsu had little work experience in this country and was having issues securing interviews, he struggled with completing application forms and did not have a CV.

Kawsu also struggled a little with the language as he found it difficult to understand the accent. Due to Kawsu’s Visa he was unable to claim any benefits while he was here so it was important that we found him a job quickly.

How Fair Start Scotland helped?

Key worker Carol worked with Kawsu to produce a CV highlighting all the transferable skills he had gained from peacekeeping in Sudan. He was put forward for intensive training on how to fill out application forms and skills training. This gave him the opportunity to understand what skills he had and how to sell himself on application forms and in interviews. He also attended confidence building workshops as his confidence had been knocked during his initial jobsearching.

Carol knew it was key for Kawsu to learn how to progress with his employment journey, she helped him to understand the importance of setting goals to help him both in work and his personal life.

As the support continued, Kawsu started feeling more and more prepared to start looking for work. He felt all the workshops and the help he got from Carol had prepared him well, so together they began searching for the right job for his needs and skills.

Getting the job

Kawsu secured an interview, to help him feel comfortable and confident in an interview siutation Carol invited him to attend an interview preparation workshop.

Kawsu secured full-time permanent employment with a warehousing firm and has been given full responsibility for the locking up of the warehouse at the end of the day. He has taken part in lots of in-house training which makes him feel valued. Kawsu feels his turned his life around, he’s sleeping better and feels that he is now giving something back.

Now Kawsu is working and earning a salary he can afford a holiday. He has set himself a goal to book a holiday when the pandemic is over to go back home to see his mum who he hasn’t seen in a few years.

Carol continues to help Kawsu through weekly calls to make sure he is well and making sure he is supported in his new role.