Nitesh Vadgama - Croydon Health Employment Programme

Nitesh Vadgama, 45 was made redundant from his warehouse operative job at Goldshield Pharmaceuticals in 2003. For the last 12 years, he has been the sole carer for his elderly mother, who suffers from multiple serious health conditions. With this full time commitment, Nitesh has had little time to invest in himself, and has suffered from depression, a lack of confidence and feelings of isolation.

After speaking to a representative and hearing about the support he could receive, Nitesh was keen to sign up Croydon Health Employment Programme, funded as part of Building Better Opportunities. Five months on, Nitesh is feeling more positive and has identified that he needs to work on his confidence, learn employability skills and find work.

During Nitesh’s time with Croydon Health Employment Partnership, he has created a Personal Development Plan, Diagnostic Assessment, learned how to create a CV, took part in a retail course to gain an up to date qualification and engaged in dialogs about welfare to ensure he would receive adequate support if he transitioned into work. As a result of his determination and the support he received, Nitesh gained work at RGIS Inventory Specialists as an Auditor. He is now mixing with other people more, gaining confidence and believes that he has a future to look forward to.

Nitesh has been complimentary about the programme saying: “I would recommend it. It was flexible to fit around my caring role. I gained more confidence to apply for work and it filled a void. It also helped to keep me motivated by knowing that my CHEP Worker was there to guide me and check in with me.”

Nitesh’s CHEP worker is extremely pleased with his progress: “Nitesh has been a pleasure to work with, he attended regular appointments and took full advantage of the support that was offered to him. I wish him all the best in his new job role and I will always be here for him to check in with.”