Skills 4 work project - Mercedes' story

Being a member of LADPP makes me feel like I’m at home!​

Rachel Hobbs - Skills for Work (S4W) Project Worker

Mercedes García* has been living in London for 10 months. She arrived with her husband looking for new opportunities. She first came to LADPP for help with a specific problem but she found much more than that.

“Leaving the place I’ve known as home for such a long time wasn’t easy at all. It’s been difficult speaking a foreign language, changing my lifestyle and doing jobs I’d never done before, it’s been a challenge.” explains Mercedes, about her new life in the UK.
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She is one of many Latin American migrants coming from the EU, who attend our Skills for Work advice sessions. People come for information about their employment rights, skill-building and training opportunities that will help them find better work opportunities. They also come to be heard and recognised as individuals with the right to have somewhere to live, work and progress in this city that, for them, represents a new start and a new life.

Mercedes came to LADPP because she had a problem with one of the cleaning companies she was working for. The LADPP advisors supported her through the process and with the help of ACAS she was finally able to resolve the matter and get back the money that was owed to her. 

Now Mercedes is a leader within her community. She comes to workshops, English classes and participates in the social and cultural activities run by LADPP. She has also invited her colleagues and friends to the office to find out more about their employment rights and to get involved in the organisation.

“I feel like I’m a part of LADPP and now I’m motivated, with the strength to face my day-to-day life. Being a member of this organisation makes me feel like I’m at home”.
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*Name changed to protect identity. 

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