Farah Shirwa came to Britain in 2000, fleeing civil war and oppression
in Somalia and determined to create a better life for himself. He found
employment in a factory and moved into a flat with a friend. Then the
factory relocated, making Shiwa redundant. Unable to pay his rent, he
became homeless and moved into the Snow Hill Hostel in Birmingham.
As
part of the resettlement programme at the hostel, Shirwa was told about
the Business Action on Homelessness programme run by Business in the
Community, which puts businesses in touch with homeless people to give
them work experience, training and help with developing their life
skills and confidence.
Shirwa was able to obtain a place on the
programme’s ‘Ready to Go’ scheme, a two-day personal development
project that gave him the confidence to successfully apply for a work
placement at Welconstruct Group, a Birmingham-based office and
workplace equipment company.
During the two-week placement,
Shirwa was supported by a company ‘buddy’ at Welconstruct and by site
visits from his social services key worker and the Business Action on
Homelessness team. His tenure at the company went well and was extended
for a further five weeks.
As part of the post-placement support,
Shirwa was introduced to a job coach, Mark Parsons of Industrial
Refrigeration Systems, a Bicester-based company that had decided to
become involved in the programme after having been told about it by one
of its customers, the confectionery business Cadbury Trebor Bassett.
Parsons first met Shirwa at the Welconstuct head office, where Shirwa
had completed a fork-lift training course and was now looking for work
in that field. However, potential employers were demanding
‘experienced’ fork-lift operators, and Shirwa did not have the
necessary track record.
Fortunately, through a chance
conversation with Hygiene Services, another Midlands company involved
in Business Action on Homelessness, Parsons discovered that the company
was looking for cleaning staff to work in the Cadbury Trebor Bassett
distribution warehouse at Minworth.
Shirwa contacted Hygiene
Services and was offered a job – and has worked for the firm ever
since. ‘He’s proved to be a good example of how successful local
businesses can be in helping people with a variety of problems that
inhibit their ability to integrate into the community,’ says
Welconstruct group services manager Bob Mander. ‘Collectively, using
our networks, and with the resources provided by the programme, we can
really make a difference.’
