Mya, HR Coordinator

I joined NCHA in 2022 at the age of 20. I’d been unemployed for two years before that since dropping out of college.

I’d been studying for my A levels in Maths, Further Maths and Physics, but my mental health problems had gotten on top of me and I hadn’t been attending. I’d struggled with depression since the age of 13 and then I started to suffer with anxiety too. Although I could do the work, the thought of actually going into college was too much and I just used to walk around the streets nearby all day instead.

Eventually the college asked me to leave and so I had to tell my mum. She was shocked as she thought I’d been in college, but she always supports me too so it was good to finally be honest with her.

After leaving college I was unemployed for two years and on Universal Credit. I started therapy for my mental health and started an Open University course to study for a degree in Maths. I used to attend regular meetings at the job centre and they told me I had to apply for a position that they’d seen advertised at NCHA.

Joining NCHA

The post was for a ‘HR Support Assistant’ and it was advertised as part of the government’s ‘Kickstart scheme’ that was designed to get 16 to 24 year olds off Universal Credit and into work.

At that time I’d never even heard of HR and had to Google it on my way to the interview!

I was the only person to turn up for an interview that day, but I liked what I found out about NCHA and got on well with my interviewer, so I was pleased to be offered the position.

Initially it was just a 25-hour a week temporary contract for six months and I was essentially doing data entry, logging job applicants into our recruitment system. But as the team got busier I was offered more work and further training, and offered the position of as HR Assistant. I've now been promoted again to HR Coordinator.

Working life at NCHA

I really enjoy working at NCHA. I love the people I work with in our HR team. We’re like a little family supporting each other, day in day out. I also love the work we do in HR, helping people and seeing all aspects of the employment cycle.

As a teenager I’d wanted to be a research mathematician, but now I can’t see myself doing anything but HR work. I’m hoping to study for a CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualification in the future and I’d love to finish my degree too.

I appreciate the opportunities we offer to people at NCHA. I am a diversity champion supporting our work on equality, diversity and inclusion, and I’m also heavily involved in our Diverse Heritage Forum for colleagues. I believe that we can learn from others and improve things for everyone at NCHA.

When I look back, I’m proud of how far I’ve come since dropping out of college and what I’ve achieved so far. Now I’m excited to see where the future takes me!