At Antac we take pride in providing a platform for employees to be able to go on to achieve great success.
We will shortly say goodbye to Malcom who has just landed his dream job working within mental health in child services after working for Antac for the past year. He has also recently been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services for support in the effort against COVID-19.
Read Malcom’s story
I thought I should elaborate a little on how I came to work for Antac, if it wasn’t for the opportunity that I was given I honestly believe I now wouldn’t be where I am. After spending another 9 months out of work due to mental illness, I was in a dark place with little work options available.
I had been volunteering for the local mental health team assisting with the running of groups. This gave me enough confidence to look for work.
Having done cleaning for about 8 years I set my sights on a job within the industry but part-time just to get me back into a routine of going to work. A vacancy caught my eye, 3 hours in the afternoon cleaning toilets, some may say a horrible job and they would be right but to me this was an opportunity.
I applied and spoke to a lady called Sophie who arranged a meeting at the client’s site. The cleaning company Antac was unknown to me and I decided honesty was the best policy, I have never been ashamed of my illness.
Sophie was welcoming and understanding and to my surprise offered me the position. I cannot describe the elation of this, my confidence exploded and even though I was nervous about discussing my mental health issues I had no reason to be.
I was welcomed by both Sophie Knight Area Manager and Grete Thomas, Area Supervisor and then I met Sara Jones, Operations Manager. Sara seemed a nice lady, firm in her management but extremely fair and always found something encouraging to say.
Within a few weeks, I had settled in making friends with my colleagues and other staff as well as the client staff. This boosted my confidence further and I was happy for the first time in a very long time.
Antac, Sara and both Sophie and Grete all made sure I was settled and understood my duties, checking in on-site from time to time, praising my work and saying how I was doing a great job.
I continued with my volunteering for East Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and the 2 mixed extremely well.
I am now leaving the company to work within mental health in child services, a dream job for me as I feel my life experience can be used to help others.
I cannot thank Antac as a company or the management team enough, their belief in me and the way I was accepted has given me strength, confidence and a reason to believe in myself.
Malcolm