As an introvert and former stay-at-home mother, 29-year-old Nurazlina Binte Hamadi is no stranger to the fears and challenges of returning to work after a hiatus.
A mother to twin boys and two daughters aged eight, six and four respectively, Nurazlina took a six-year break from employment before a MENDAKI Care Advisor introduced her to the Women At Work (W@W) programme in January 2023.
Nurazlina with her kids. Image via Nurazlina.
For the uninitiated, W@W is an enhanced “back-to-work women” programme that facilitates and supports women to re-integrate into the workforce.
Image via MENDAKI
Like many others before her, Nurazlina’s journey back to the workforce was not easy at all.
After six years of being a stay-at-home mother, Nurazlina faced numerous job rejections because of her educational level and lack of experience.
With only a GCE N-level certification, she also faced naysayers who looked down on her and told her that she would not go far.
Thankfully, Nurazlina eventually managed to find a job as a stall assistant at a school canteen.
Nurazlina’s boss was understanding of her desire to participate in the W@W programme and supported her upskilling endeavours.
In a three-day course, Nurazlina was taught the basics of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word, which she found useful as she wanted to recap what she had learnt when she worked in her office job six years ago.
She also completed a professional grooming workshop as part of W@W:
“It’s good that I joined this programme because I got to meet different kinds of people, share my problems and know of different programmes that can help me, as well as certain employers who can employ me.”
Image via MENDAKI
And since undergoing W@W, Nurazlina has not stopped upskilling and investing time and effort in her career transition.
Currently, she is furthering her education in the Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education, whilst being employed as an assistant teacher at Superland Montessori Preschool.
“Initially, I had anxiety attacks about going back to work after six years of being a housewife. I was also worried about working in another industry as employers might not accept me given that my old job was at a school canteen. Thankfully, the trainers at W@W helped me to overcome my anxiety and introversion by teaching me how to prepare for interviews and talk to strangers.”
Now that Nurazlina has returned to the workforce full time, she is shouldering the responsibility of both work and family commitments concurrently.
Apart from needing to send her children to school before work starts at 9am, Nurazlina still needs to attend course lessons from 6:30pm to 9:30pm on Mondays to Thursdays.
On weekends, she has limited rest too, as her time is split between sending her children to tuition and religious classes, taking her own Mandarin lessons to help her communicate better with her Chinese-speaking students and colleagues, as well as driving lessons.
Fortunately, Nurazlina’s twin boys are now independent enough to know how to go home from school by themselves, while her husband helps to take care of their preschool daughters when they fall sick.
Despite these challenges, Nurazlina remains resilient and committed to her professional growth, confident in her choice to upskill with W@W:
“The W@W programme has helped me feel more confident to step out of my comfort zone and pursue what I want. I know that if I want a better future, I need to improve myself.”
She even has the following advice for other stay-at-home mothers who might be hesitant to join W@W because they have no intentions to rejoin the workforce:
"Joining W@W can open your mind to other upskilling opportunities where you can develop yourself personally and professionally."
More about W@W
Since 2008, Yayasan MENDAKI has been supporting women to return to the workforce through skills upgrading, capacity-building, and job matching.
The W@W programme aims to empower women through a three-stage process to restart, rebuild and reintegrate into the workforce.
Restart
Care Advisors will conduct a holistic career and skills advisory session with each participant to come up with a Career Action Plan (CAP), which consists of goal setting, a training and development plan, and a career action plan.
Participants will also be provided with holistic support and assistance at their nearest MENDAKI satellite centres throughout the programme to facilitate their return to the workforce.
Rebuild
There will be separate training pathways for PMET and non-PMET participants based on their needs and each pathway may consist between three and five days of virtual workshops.
These workshops will equip participants with relevant skill sets such as administrative, digital, employability, collaborative, and critical thinking skills that are required in workplaces.
Re-Integrate
Upon completion, a programme officer will work closely with respective partners to provide professional job coaching and placement support to ensure participants are gainfully employed.
To be part of W@W’s women network and connect with other like-minded women, you can join their Telegram channel and stay updated on their programmes.
This is a sponsored article by MENDAKI.
Quotes have been edited for clarity.
Top images via Nurazlina and MENDAKI