Aleksandr builds his skills with support from the Adult Skills Fund

Aleksandr Tuktamyshev, from Barking, faced significant challenges when he joined the Adult Skills Fund London in May 2024.

His limited English language skills left 30-year-old Aleksandr feeling withdrawn and isolated making him hesitant to engage with others, while his lack of confidence and sparse understanding of British culture compounded these struggles.

With the guidance of his tutor, Dilbagh Wahiwala, Aleksandr was encouraged to believe in his abilities and enrolled in an Entry Level 1 ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) course.

Through weekly sessions, Aleksandr focused on enhancing his reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and as his confidence increased, he began engaging with others facing similar challenges, advancing quickly to Entry Level 2.

It was during these lessons that Aleksandr achieved a major milestone by securing a job. In August 2024 Aleksandr began working as a Cloakroom Attendant at a prestigious London hotel.

Having been apprehensive about speaking English, Aleksandr now interacts confidently with his colleagues and guests at work.

Embracing his new skills, Aleksandr would like to progress to Entry Level 3 to continue working on his pronunciations and accent reduction skills. He has also started driving lessons, and eventually plans to buy his own home and set up his own business.

Reflecting on his journey with the Adult Skills Fund, Aleksandr credits the support he received from Maximus: “When I came to Maximus in May 2024, I spoke very poor English and didn’t like to talk at all. Now I’ve made new friends and have a job.

“Maximus helped me in difficult times and my studies are still not finished. I know that with their continued help I will complete my studies successfully because I have wonderful support. Thank you.”

08 January, 2025

Previous Next

See all insights

Step 1 of 4 - Eligibility

Part 1: Eligibility

Do you have a mental health concern that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal activities at work?(Required)

Are you aged 16 years or over?(Required)

Do you live in England, Scotland or Wales?(Required)

If you are employed, are you earning the National Minimum Wage?*(Required)

For more info on what the National Minimum Wage currently is, head to the government website

If you're not sure you are eligible, or would like to refer yourself by telephone, call our team on 0300 456 8114.

Someone Else

If someone else, please confirm you have consent from the individual before proceeding.

If you are referring someone else, please provide your own full name:

Part 2: Your details

Title(Required)

First Name(Required)

Last Name(Required)

National Insurance Number(Required)

Date of birth(Required)

Gender(Required)

Ethnicity(Required)

Are you receiving Incapacity Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support?(Required)

Home address(Required)

Postal code(Required)

County(Required)

Home phone number(Required)

Mobile phone number(Required)

Email(Required)

Preferred contact method(Required)

How did you hear about this service?(Required)

If other - please state

Part 4: Your mental health concerns

Your main mental health concern(Required)

If other - please state

Please tell us in a couple of sentences the effect that your mental health concern has on your ability to do your job(Required)

Is there anything specific you are finding difficult at work? For example, deadlines or group projects?(Required)

Does your employer provide any support around mental health, and how is your relationship with your employer?(Required)

Is there any other information regarding your work situation you would like to tell us about?(Required)

Do you receive any other support outside of work for your mental health?(Required)

Do you require any additional support to participate in an appointment? For example, an interpreter if you are hearing impaired(Required)

Consent

I agree to receive other communications from Maximus.

Maximus is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, and we’ll only use your personal information to administer your account and to provide the products and services you requested from us. From time to time, we would like to contact you about our products and services, as well as other content that may be of interest to you. If you consent to us contacting you for this purpose, please tick below to say how you would like us to contact you:

You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.

By clicking submit below, you consent to allow Maximus to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.