Deq's story
Deq is originally from Somalia and has been a learner with ACH since 2015.
He has completed several courses run by ACH including, English, Maths, Employability and Health & Social Care. Before this he also completed six other courses in another organisation, showing how hard he has worked in order to benefit his new life in the UK.
“When I came to ACH I always have someone to help me, and it helped me a lot. I am thankful for people taking the time to help me.” – Deq. He recently came into our Bristol office to give our support team a personal thank you for supporting him in finding a job.
He has worked at various places since moving to Bristol – boasting his great passion for being self-sustained by only being at the Job Centre for 3 months. However, he was struggling to find a suitable job that he could see himself in for a sustained period of time. Our support staff helped him to search for jobs and now Deq finds himself in a job he loves. He works at Portway in Bristol doing security.
“This is a job with lots of responsibility” says Deq, which is something he has always wanted from work. Matilda Kay, one of our support team members who worked closely with Deq, has great things to say; “Deq always comes to the office with a smile. He is focused and resilient in improving his life. We are very proud of what he has achieved”.
ACH was established in 2008 as a social enterprise specialising in the economic, social and civil integration of refugees through accommodation and community based training support. We have successfully resettled over 2000 individuals from refugee backgrounds in this time.
We employ 60 staff and operate in the West of England and the West Midlands as a strategic partner for local authorities and government prime contractors. Through the establishment of our subsidiary training arm 'Himilo Training' we are committed to supporting refugees through work experience, language training, IT literacy and employability skills.
Our #RethinkingRefugee programme is considered outstanding and reflects our commitment to making sure refugees become part of society rather than remaining marginalised and underemployed.
