We are proud to be able to support and help develop those aspiring to have a career in the construction industry through our social value programmes which focus on our ‘Building Lives’ theme.
Modassir Zaman initially joined us for a work placement on our project at St Michael’s hospital in Warwick and due to his determination and enthusiasm within the role, he has now gone on to achieve a full-time role working with Willmott Dixon Interiors through an agency.
We hear from Modassir about his mental health challenges that he faced, and how he has overcome them to build a career within construction.
Modassir Zaman.
“My Name is Modassir Zaman and I am 25 years old.
I successfully graduated with a construction management degree in 2020. However unfortunately my mental health rapidly deteriorated in October 2021. Due to the extent of my mental health and current condition at that time, I was sectioned to a mental health hospital for 4 months. I was then released back home in January 2022 after they had diagnosed me with paranoia schizophrenia. After 9 months, I felt like my mental health had improved, and so I felt like it was time for me to get back into work and into a routine. I was still extremely nervous and worried about how I would transition back into a job due to my lack of confidence.
As I had graduated with a construction management degree, I wanted to continue with my passion and look for a job within the construction industry. Through a mutual connection, I was lucky to meet with Nabeel Javed, Construction Manager at Willmott Dixon Interiors. I applied for a two week work experience placement at Willmott Dixon Interiors, which I was successful in landing. This placement has now led onto a full time job working with Willmott Dixon Interiors through an agency for 7 months.
I am extremely thankful for the opportunity Willmott Dixon Interiors has provided. The site team are like a family and have really assisted me in settling back into work. I cannot thank Nabeel Javed enough for taking me under his wing and actually really changing my life around. He has helped not just enhance my construction knowledge and skills but also improve my mental health. He has also boosted my confidence and helped build my people skills.
Willmott Dixon Interiors have been great to work with and it’s so evident they put their people first. If Nabeel had not believed in me and helped me through this journey there’s a chance my mental health could have deteriorated further. It’s ironic how I was once a patient sectioned in a mental health hospital and now I am part of an amazing site team whom are helping the NHS trust improve these facilities.
As an ex-patient I totally appreciate and understand the importance of improving mental health facilities and I hope to continue a successful career with Willmott Dixon Interiors.”
We want to thank Modassir for sharing his inspiring and courageous story which might help others to overcome the challenges they face and spur them on to pursue their passions.
Nabeel Javed, Construction Manager at Willmott Dixon Interiors says “Modassir has been a fantastic asset to the site team and I had seen potential in him from the very first day he walked onto site. He has great drive and enthusiasm, you can tell he really has a passion for construction. His story is truly inspirational, and it goes to show anything is possible.”
Nabeel Javed and Modassir Zaman on site at St Michael’s Hospital in Warwick.
Find out more about the work we are doing at St Michael’s hospital in Warwick here.
For National Careers Week, we are showcasing our excellent people that we have been working with as part of the Government’s Kickstarter scheme.
The Kickstarter scheme supports young people aged 16-24 that are at risk of long-term unemployment by funding them through a job for 6 months. It provides people on the scheme with great experience and skills that give them a better chance of getting a job in the future. We currently have 8 kick-starters across our projects.
Matthew Jarvis has been on site at our EMD Cinema project. Matt has joined the team as an assistant administrator and has been supporting both the Commercial and the Operations teams with various admin tasks. He is now in charge of purchase orders and checking and approving invoices for all materials deliveries to site. For the build team he has been helping out with keeping files and folders up-to-date, as well as updating induction sheets and organising signage out on site.
It is Matt’s first time on a construction site so he has been learning the basic fundamentals of how a site operates and what each team members roles and responsibilities are. Matt has also booked his CSCS Health, Safety and Environment test for 16th March 2022, which will enable him to go on site independently and develop his skills further.
“The Kickstarter scheme has helped me to better understand what it’s like to work within a big team on a construction site and how the whole project process works. It has also helped me to find out what it’s like to work in a different company like this which will further develop my skills in the office.” – Matthew Jarvis, Kickstarter at EMD Cinema.
Matthew Jarvis, on site at EMD Cinema.
We have had 2 Kickstarters on our Wolverhampton Civic Halls project. Tishaun and Josh both started 3 weeks ago and are looking forward to learning new activities during their time with us that increase their skillset. They have both settled in well to the new environment on a live construction project.
Above: Josh, one of the Kickstarters
Above: Tishaun, one of the Kickstarters
This is one of the great ways we are providing support and valuable experience to young people to give them a better chance of a good career ahead of them.
Supporting people into good careers is a key element of our 2030 sustainability strategy, Now or Never. Sarah Fraser, Head of the Willmott Dixon Foundation, explains: “As we emerge from the Covid pandemic, upskilling in our local communities will be more important than ever. Supporting people to find long-term jobs will help give the construction industry the capacity to build the much-needed infrastructure that will generate wider growth in our economy.
“It’s also part of our ethos to drive social mobility and leave a skills legacy in the communities where we work. Now or Never includes our commitment to help more than 1,000 people facing significant barriers to work gain access to new career opportunities.”
For more information on how to apply to this scheme, head to the Department for Work and Pensions job board.
Tamar Moseley | Work Experience
I am a single mum of two who has struggled with anxiety, dyslexia and low confidence. During my getting back into work journey, I have had panic attacks at interviews, and have previously found it hard to find the right fit to develop a career. I am a hard worker and have always exceeded expectations of my managers and received an increase of duties very early on from starting a job. Being out of work for four years has allowed me to homeschool my daughter, 4 and my son, 11. Though they will both soon attend school, and I have been considering finding a job in construction.
Before now my aspirations and hopes were at its most volatile. I was very nervous in returning to work. I had been losing hope and faith in myself gaining control of a career because I had tried so hard with no return. Drained, especially as I was losing my grip on my anxiety, I felt my belief in myself was delusional. I stopped looking for something I would be good at and felt (due to my previous experiences) that I needed a practical job that I could get stuck into and just get on with – being outside and physical were big incentives.
After my panic attack at a recent interview, I, by chance vented all my frustration to a friend who had access to a network of social projects. He had heard of ‘Women into Construction (WiC)’ and forwarded my name to the project manager Anna Walterskotter.
I had very little support network so childcare was an issue. Therefore, I attended the first day of the course with my two children in tow. I was nervous as I knew this wasn’t standard practice but wanted to show my appreciation for the opportunity and WiC were really responsive and gave me work to complete at home and arranged for me to study for the CSCS card which I did and passed and later they referred me to the Willmott Dixon recruitment program.
The team at Willmott Dixon Interiors broke through my anxiety easily by being down to earth, transparent, and very supportive. I was then offered a work experience placement – which I jumped on – and felt the motivation, support and agency needed to reach out to my support network to encourage them to invest in me through help with childcare.
I have been blown away by the investment Willmott Dixon have put into the program, and into me. I have been impressed by the investment into the employees of the department, who in turn have invested their time into me, teaching me how everything works within the company. I was also excited and found it encouraging that I was invited to access to every part of the business, practically and physically by my colleagues.
The ethos seeps through everybody here and I wanted more. I felt motivated and ambitious, things previously out of my reach due to the set up of other industries. Purely based on the environment and how I can just be myself (minus the initial stepping into the office on day one) I have not felt anxious!
This experience has allowed me to feel free to believe I could progress in this industry, confident in my knowledge of how it all works together and it has genuinely felt too good to be true. I have felt a taste of what I imagine privilege to feel like and now I have all the confidence in saying that ‘I will be employed by Willmott Dixon’ because it is now my full aim to do so. I am hoping to become apart of the Social Value team, as without the Social Value department in WDI, I would not be here, be confident, hopeful and active in my and my children’s future.
The team here is amazing you can’t make up the banter and environment you just have to experience it. The team has made it so easy to get out of bed in the dark and cold and I think that’s very symbolic of the impact this working environment has on our mental wellbeing.
Mike Devaney, Construction Manager, managed Tamar whilst she was on site at EMD Cinema. Commenting on Tamar, Mike said “I have found Tamar to be a confident, friendly, open and enthusiastic young lady who has a real empathy for social value. I wish Tamar all the success and best wishes for the future.” 