A new career for Nasir

In the second part of our new series on local people facing barriers to employment and how we can support them in their careers, we spoke to Nasir Mohamed from Acton Green.

Thanks to Ealing Council’s employment and skills team, Nasir recently embarked on a career change.

Nasir, 30, previously worked in the telecommunications industry as a fiber optic network engineer, working with fiber optic networks for internet, video and voice services. But in 2021, he decided he wanted to do something else.

“I wanted a career that was more financially rewarding, had better growth 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 a wealth of previous experience in engineering roles, he felt he had yet to find the right position that combined his problem-solving skills with his passion for technology.

“When I was thinking about what to do next, I looked at cloud operations developer roles,” he said. “I felt that my interest in technology and my problem-solving skills made this career a perfect fit.”

After contacting his local job centre, Nasir found out about the support available through the council’s employment and skills team and its careers centre. The council team discussed his options with him and helped him access specialist training and find a role suitable for his skill set.

“I found out about the support the council offers through the job centre,” added Nasir. “The center has specialist careers advisors and my advisor Brian in particular has helped me with career guidance and resources.

“I told him 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 it wasn’t the best fit for me and I found a better way for my circumstances which meant I would be able to cover my bills and commitments.”

Nasir went on to become a cloud-practitioner trainee, studying cloud computing and operating systems and obtaining a certificate in Amazon Web Services. With the help of the board, he has now secured a 2-year fixed-term contract as an Associate Cloud Operations Engineer with a local technology company.

“I like the work I do now”

Not only does his new job fuel his passion for technology and provide him with a higher salary, it fits his current needs very well and is actively helping him develop the skills he will need to advance in his career.

He said: “I enjoy the work I do now for many reasons. I like the competitive salary, the ability to work from home and the significant investment in training and learning opportunities.”

Thanks to his training, Nasir now has a number 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 because the field is very broad.

“The help I initially received from the council was top quality and very professional. The whole team at the careers center were really helpful and supportive.”

Help is available

If you need help getting a job, the council’s careers center can help. From CV writing support to interview preparation, hubs offer a wide range of services.