brine:
I find some of the responses here totally unwarranted. Like, why would any one here think some people fear Just2wise !? Are we in a primary school settings?

BTW,
I lent a female friend £2k for her to add to her POF around August last year. The money was SOLELY for proof of funds and she even suggested that we could draft and agreement but I wasn't having any of that(silly). She messaged me today that she didn't get the visa and with all the plenty talks, she didn't even mention anything about my money . I was shocked by her response when I asked her for the money since there wasn't any need for her to still keep hold of it. She said she paid the money to an agent to forge bank statements as the money I sent and about N500k were all she had(What she got from the Uni was more like part scholarship). Then she also paid the agent some other fees. Long story short, she has given my money to the agent BUT I don't need to worry as the agent promised to return the money back to her in the next few months and she'll definitely send it back to me when she gets the reimbursement No apologies, but black people don't even rate their fellow black people and some people come here to talk BS about Nigerians not helping their fellow Nigerians.

For some of you here, the only place you get valuable information is only on Nairaland because the Nigerian/African leaving next door doesn't even rates you. Yet you'll see of them acting like someone owes them a response. We need to stop preventing other people from getting help PLEASE, because some of the attitudes we portray discourages people from providing help.

Regarding the loan, where I come from the saying has it that a) you never loan money you can't afford to lose, and b) when you loan a friend money, factor in that you are likely going to lose both friend and money. This doesn't have anything to do with Nigerians, I definitely don't think Nigerians are any less helpful to friends and family than any other country as people like to state, its simply that the extended family system has broken down, so the circle of "family" is now narrower than it was in our parents' generation.

LagosismyHome:


But this story itself discourages me from providing help.

Do you really believe the agent will reimbursed one naira. And Why didn't she mention from begining that this was the plan with an agent so that you can decide if you want to part with 2k or not ...... it stories like this and the outcome that causes the not rating well

Had she done so, the likely hopelessness of her undertaking would have been clear - applying for a UK student visa with 500k and false documents.

AirBay:


I wonder why West brom and Aston no dy that list too.

Fake list.


Birmingham can't be on the list.. have you been to Solihull, Erdington, Perry bar, Royal Town of Sutton coldfield is partially Birmingham as well?....Lots of nice places in Birmingham.

I think Birmingham just has a bad reputation for violent crime and all that youth gang stuff.
Nothing any different from any big city.

DisGuy:


True, more social cleansing

If you can afford it...white,black,brown!

Look at all the Hong-Kong citizens buying up all these new builds as they relocate to the UK

I still dey wonder how Boris got away with the Hong Kong thing so soon after Brexit.

TheGuyFromHR:


The same countries you always could visit on a Nigerian passport.
Nothing has changed.

Lol.

Ticha:


It's hard work especially if in the hospital or nursing home. Physically demanding and can be monotonous. Quite a bit of personal care - washing, changing incontinent pads, showering where required, feeding including actually spoon feeding like you would a baby. For clients with mobility issues, there's hoisting in and out of bed, chairs etc. Some are bed bound, so there's turning the client to avoid bedsores as well. Emptying catheters, cleaning colostomy bags if any. Shifts can be long - breaks are very welcome and sometimes, that's all the break you get unless you smoke haha

On the other hand, some can be relatively easy where the client is mainly mobile and capable and needs supervision and guidance - ie reminding them to wash, brush, cut food into smaller pieces, cook for them, take them out for walks, appointments etc. This is also same for learning disability care as well. Although with learning disability, some of the clients can also exhibit violent and aggressive tendencies to include hitting, biting, spiting etc.

There's palliative care - end of life stage - where clients have a syringe driver in and are basically waiting to die so likely also nil by mouth, tube fed and maybe intubated and the support worker's role is to keep them comfortable. So there isn't much to do apart from sitting around and ensuring their comfort.

Nights vary in different places but day support is almost always harder - although you're also not allowed to sleep on shift at night but there can be differences and nuances in different providers. Some will have a sleep in person.

There's also support work for supporting children in care - neurotypical children and or those with LD as well. It's very very similar to a teacher/ parent/ guardian role. You do get lots of being sworn at, rooms thrashed, some fixating behaviour etc.

Support work will also have you despairing about humanity and oyinbo life in general. You get the see the best and worst of humanity and realise that wahala and family drama full everywhere

This.

ukay2:


I have told friends with capacity for tier 2 sponsorship visa to work towards it than students visa.....most won't understand.

While should l pay to study when l can work to get paid...just to write medics exams and you get licence to practice with tier 2 sponsorship for you and your family.

Obviously not everyone is in the medical field.

SirWellington:
Dear all, the PSW doesn't count towards the five years PR route but counts towards the ten years route to PR. Am I right?

Yes.

obalala:
Hello guys landed Southampton less than 2 weeks ago on a dependant visa,(wife in healthcare). Already applying for jobs and got a two interviews already at NHS but the salary is a little above 18k and its 8-4pm..Issue is we have a 2yr old girl. My aunt is suggesting I start with a night picker and packer hustle so I have time for my daughter during the day.

NB
Gone to find out cost of daycare 7am -6pm £250

Big question is should I keep applying for daytime office job and keep my daughter in daycare or start off with picker and packer jobs till we are fully settled.
My wife work timetable has no nights till March + I'm a certified data analyst with few months experience back in 9ja..

Looking forward to your advise .. thanks alot

I like where the HRGuy said "in my admittedly biased" opinion. That's because there is no right or recommended answer to your request for advice, all you're going to get are opinions.

I have 3 children, and I also looked after my children when we first arrived and I hadn't gotten a day job. No biggie, I still do it.
However, if I have one child like you do, I will put her in [affordable] daycare right away and take any day job that pays enough to cover the costs and leave me with something. I did not enjoy sitting at home during the winter months with 3 children, separating fights and getting homework done, only coming out in the evening when it was already dark to march off to a night job which I did not enjoy. I was unable to get anything much done in the day time or even get to know the new city I was living in, because marching 3 children around to the city to explore was definitely not something I had much energy for.

Again, our Nigerian women dey try in many ways, and I'm no sexist bigot, but do not leave your madam as the sole reasonable earner for any length of time.

They will soon come for my head, so make I tune out first.

TheGuyFromHR:


Agreed.
Of course Americans tend to live "larger" than the Brits do, so that comes into play.
Also US immigration from Nigeria has always been much tighter than UK immigration from Nigeria, at least prior to the 90s and visa lottery. A far higher proportion of professionals went to the US (almost everyone I know there of my parents' generation was a doctor, nurse, engineer, etc.) and of course they tend to be doing better, and hence be more open-handed. Nigerians in the UK are more varied (it was way easier to get a UK visa, overstay and mutate into a general hustler than a US visa, for instance).

Lol @ mutate.

LagosismyHome:


I will leave this for those in Scotland to answer....

I live in London/England so that the system i am familiar with . I think there are some slight differences . In England the answer would be YES, 3 - 4 can get free 15 hours nursery/school and from 4 years is yes to free primary school

In Scotland, every child regardless of immigration status gets 30 hours weekly from the age of 3.

TheGuyFromHR:


Nonetheless, you got it - for free.
And opinions are the only free thing available in developed countries - the "free" school, "free" healthcare, etc are not free - all is paid for through tax.

OgaHR, you for leave this madam go dey write your sack letters. You can't change Nigerians and their thinking.
Person dey ask about free school dey complain about tax in the same breath, like say na Boris Johnson dey pay for the schools from him pocket.

Balingz:
Good morning house. How are you all doing? My brother got an offer from a big 4 accounting firm in the UK but the role he is being offered is less than the role he is applied for due to his professional qualification. However, in Nigeria, he works for a big 4 accounting firm and should be a manager in a few months time. The naira equivalent of what he will be paid in the UK is almost same with what he currently earns in Nigeria. Is it worthwhile for him to accept the UK offer considering he has a wife and 2 children. Thanks house.

I worked in one of the Big 4, then a bank. I'm working in fin services now, but in neither a bank nor one of the Big 4.
If your brother's motive in moving to the UK is to gain a promotion or maintain his position, and there are no other considerations (he is not escaping Fulani herdsmen, Emefiele/Buhari, the constantly appreciating naira, etc.), then let him wait till he becomes a manager and try another job search.

Let him note that it will not be easy to make a horizontal movement career-wise from Nigeria. 90% of the time you will be offered a position below what you already hold or feel you qualify for. And 2/3 years is the standard period of time to remain on one level in a structured salary scale, as I am sure those of us who have held formal employment both here and back in Nigeria can attest, so he won't be "kept" back as one mposter mentioned.

On the other hand, once he makes that jump and has one of the Big 4 UK on his resume, it will give his resume a bigger boost than the other option. The truth is that foreigners discount our Nigerian work experience a lot; let's not to get into that here.

Aminess1:
Please pardon me if this issue has been sorted out before. The slides are much to check through.
I stay in Leicester with my family although my school is at Sheffield. My husband rented the house with his name and I’ve applied for council tax exemption but I got letter saying is only 25% will be exempted since my husband is not a student. Is that how it’s been done?
Again we’re trying to buy a car and considering the best option for insurance monthly payment ? We’re barely 2months here.
Thank you.

The elders here will see this your comment and jump and pass. They will wonder if you really came to the UK to study.
Quick tip - if you dey find something and you don't want to read through "slides" as you put it, then google. Check this link:

https://www.google.com/search?channel=trow5&client=firefox-b-d&q=living+in+the+UK+council+tax+nairaland

Preshyi:
Thanks so much, will definitely do more research on the training cos that work no be here. But are these trainings something he can do while still working fulltime?

Madam, you are not asking the right questions. I will answer this one because I sure say OgaHR dem no go answer this one.

You should find a training first, then adjust your schedule to fit it. There are all sorts of flexible options here, evenings, weekends, whatever, and even if its weekdays, then its for your husband to take out what time is needed to make it work for him.

Goddys:
Please I need advice here. I'm in Edinburg Scotland and since I came in here last month, it seems every Nigerians I met are into care assistant jobs.

I have done two shifts on the job and didn't like it but I was told that it's theasiest means to make money and plbe paying the rest of my tuition.

Please is there any shift that it's not too stressful and have long hours that one can be doing here? It's just tiring taking care of residents that are either dependent or demented.

Try Amazon. They're in Dunfermline. That's outside Edinburgh. The pay is good. You get more reliable shifts than with Royal Mail.
If you don't want a "stressful" job, you never start o. Even call centre no easy.

TheGuyFromHR:
Regarding job hunting and tailoring of CVs with regard to previous experience, in my opinion there are no hard and fast rules. As we all know, it is a general (but not hard and fast either) concept that here they tend to undervalue work experience gained in places like Nigeria, such that in many occupations (generally not those in demand) it is quite common for persons to be offered entry-level roles irrespective of how many years’ experience they may have acquired. But I don’t think that’s a reason for stripping one’s CV of all such experience in order to appear more suitable for entry-level roles. I didn't do that, anyway.

Ultimately, do as the spirit moves you. If you have previous Nigerian experience and you want to strip it out in a manner not detrimental to your overall career ("mind the gap", fine, if you want to leave it in, fine. Just do your best to tweak each resume/application, send them in, follow up with a huge dose of prayer, strengthen your mind when any rejections come in and don't get discouraged (any time you get discouraged, read the Nigerian news or check your latest energy bill to "ginger" yourself), rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat and you should be fine.

1000 likes and lol at the bolded.
OgaHR don come again.
On a serious note, the news from Nigeria is scary and that from the east is heartbreaking o. Make we no even enter Octopus and Bulb matter.

TheGuyFromHR:


Exactly.
It's settled law in the UK; for those used to smashing their madam anyhow whether she like or she no like, write "R v R, 1991" above your bed in big bold letters so una go remember.

Lol.
OgaHR you don come again.

TheGuyFromHR:


Hilarious.
Last last, the poster will be fine once he takes time to read up.

No comment to make on the current trending topic?

Owlette:
Thanks a lot for your response. I really appreciate it.

Sunderland and Newcastle are virtually the same city, very possible to live in one and work/study in the other. I took a course in Northumbria Uni once and I think a couple of my coursemates used to come from Sunderland.
In London, some boroughs are farther apart from each other than those two ciities are.

TheGuyFromHR:


1. Don't buy a car;
2. Try reading from page 1 of this thread.

Lol, this OgaHR dey blunt like Hausa man razor.
But good advice anyway.
Bros, read the thread through, go back at least a year, lots of useful information.

Mamatukwas:


Seen. Good morning.

Sent you a message, want to ask about shipping.
Not sure how this message thing works, it seemed to be a blank form with a fixed message.

Preshyi:
Please who knows any good site where I can book affordable airbnb? The ones I am seeing on google are on the high side and I plan to stay for 2 weeks including the quarantine period before getting an accommodation.
Also, I think getting a place to stay comes before completing the passenger locator form and booking for the day 2 and 8 test cos I need to fill in the address I will stay in on the form. How correct is this please? I am heading to Sheffield

Go on to Airbnb website at airbnb.co.uk.
This is summer and holiday property might not be priced the way it will be in the next 3 months, but I shouldn't think Sheffield will be pricey. I just checked and I can see some 4-starred and above offers ranging from 20 - 33 pounds a night in and around Sheffield for a randomly chosen 10 day stay in late August for 2 guests.

And yes you need to have an address to fill in the locator form, so you'll have to book before you travel.

Na now the papers go remember say Saka na Nigerian.

And one more thing on the subject of the accent thing -
My children speak Igbo, as I and my wife made it a point to speak Igbo to them when we dey Lagos.
Now we've moved to the UK, we still continue that. I'm not worried about whatever accent they will develop with the over time as we continue to live here, but I would prefer they eventually pick up a generic British accent.

Why is very simple. If they are going to live here, the sooner and the better they blend into this country the better for them. The fewer the markers held against one - dark skin, unfamiliar names, the better. That is the reality of life. What I will not do is avoid African culture for that purpose - I endure a Nigerian church from time to time, and do my best to get my children to play and socialise with some of the African families in my area, etc. I would like my children to grow up with a sense of who they are and hopefully that will help to keep them on the path I would prefer them to follow and it takes a community to do that. But on the other hand, I recognise that while I am Nigerian in background and culture and will always be Nigerian (or Biafran or Uarian or generic west African, as the case may be), they can be anything they want to be, and I'm totally fine with that.

As the hrguy said, I fit enter Naija at any point in time, even though I'm a Lagos boy, so na there most of my journey go end. But I can't and won't take my children back to an unsafe situation, better if anyone needs to jaa or pull some escape stunts in a situation in Lagos, make e be only me follow, so no visits to Naija for them until whenver I deem it safe, which may not be within their childhood or a period when I have control over them. If that's the case, so be it.

TheGuyFromHR:


I tend to agree.
The whole debate about which is better for an average Nigerian, Nigeria or the UK, is perennial and never to be settled.

My opinion is that Nigeria undoubtedly works for some, particularly those at the top, but it definitely doesn't work for the majority of its people. In the 1970s and 1980s when the UK was the sick man of western Europe, Nigeria was arguably better, but in 2021 when Nigeria is among the sickest men of Africa, there is no room for comparison for the same average Nigerian.

Re raising children, the reason people like me emigrated in their middle age was simply because one wants to provide the children with a better chance at life that Nigeria definitely no longer offers to the majority of its people. This might change, and I fervently hope it does and Nigeria becomes a place where ordinary people can thrive once again, but I decided to no longer subject my children to the Hobbesian landscape that my country has turned into. My mother is Igbo, I went to Nsukka, speak very good Igbo and my fondest memories are of the time I spent in Enugu and Owerri when I was in university. When I got my first job, I used to put my old banger on the road and cruise down to Enugu for Easter/Christmas/4 day Muslim holiday and back to Lagos. Right now, Nigeria's security perimetre has shrunk to central Lagos, Abuja et al., and I somehow don't think it will ever go back to those relatively carefree days and even I haven't got the energy to deal with that, let alone my children.

Had I no children, I would never have left Nigeria, and I plan to return myself if it is still viable and livable once I have settled my children and I'm continuing some of my ongoing my investments and all, but I do not care if my children never go back to Nigeria or where they decide to live their lives once they have that choice as long as they have a viable alternative to Nigeria.

I agree too.
Everyone has their own fixed opinions over the where is the grass greener argument, Nigeria or obodo oyibo, so best to leave the matter.

My own opinion is that Nigeria has very sadly ceased to be a place where the majority of its people can thrive and progress, so I left. If I left for that reason, I don't see myself taking my children back. I know a lot of people, both my former colleagues in the places I worked and others, who have left or are planning to. I also know people who would like to leave but don't believe they can do so at this stage in their lives, and I know people who say they will never leave.

Each man to his own.

BouharryArtikou:


I will leave it at that.
When you are asked to provide an IELTS or TOEFL[b] for certain roles[/b], or scholarships (eg Chevening). Then we will see if this long grammar of ‘native speaker’ of yours will fly.

What you wish, or feel is not necessarily the reality.

I have been asked that before and I always said what I have said here - I'm a native speaker.
In my current role, that was quickly dropped.
Feel free to continue devaluing yourself.

BouharryArtikou:


[b]Nigeria is not on the UK list of English speaking countries. That’s the reason why we write IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge Assessment etc… but Jamaicans don’t[/b].

I've no idea if that's true or not, but that was not what I am referring to.
For instance, I grew up in Nigeria, speaking English from when I was old enough to talk, and had all my education in English.
So English is my first language and I always classify myself as a native English speaker when I'm filling forms or where the question arises.

Even those who learned our west African brand of English are native speakers. Being bilingual, like many Nigerians are, does not mean you are not a native speaker of a language. So I describe myself as a native speaker of English and Igbo, the same way a child of a Latino immigrant in the US might describe himself as a native speaker of English and Spanish.

Incidentally, the Jamaicans and other west Indians also generally speak their own brands of English too, Carribean English is not necessarily purer than west African English. Those who are educated, in both west Africa and the Carribean, can (hopefully) use Standard English properly, but the monolingual peoples of the Carribean generally do not speak English any better than we do.

My point being make we no dey use our own hand dey mislabel ourselves, oyibo is already very ready to do that.

gabiomoesu:
Sgtponzihater1 Justwise Lexusgs430 Stenon Fatima04 Eriko2k2 Dupyshoo Dustydee

Morning guys. First off, I'm sorry for tagging so many people.

Thing is I need some solid advice. Now, I came to the UK for studies in February and I plan to be here for a long time. But my girlfriend of many years lives and work in Naija. She holds a BA in English and teaches in a British Secondary school. Lately, we've been discussing routes she can take to get here but she's declared her wish to continue with the same English teaching profession here. I've told her times without number that it doesn't really make sense for a foreigner, whose first language isn't English, would come here and teach native kids regardless of her qualification.

I've tried to advise her to consider signing up for a master's programme in a degree that would qualify her to work a job on the UK Shortage occupations list.

What do you guys think? Please we need as many viable options as we can get. If you're seeing this post and know someone who's moniker I missed out and might be able to share some knowledge, kindly cc them to call their attention to this post.

Thank you guys.

Just to ask, is your girlfriend Nigerian?
If she is, she shouldn't be described as someone whose first language isn't English.

TheGuyFromHR:


Or leave the cost centre behind in Nigeria for a while until you find your feet.

Yemite1845:
Jeez ,any other way around this ,please very urgent

Oga HR don carry come again.
But he speaks truth, pikins na cost centres, so unless say una dey Owerri or any of the places wey UGM dey work overtime and you need to activate your Plan B fast, that option, if you have it, should be considered.

Also note that as a student you are not allowed to be self-employed, so the rules limit you tothat 20 hours. Na your madam wey fit work unlimited, so depending on how things turn out, get ready to add Professional Babysitting to your resume.

Best of luck.

Lexusgs430:


And you still wrote this.......

Lol.
Abeg make I flow my broken small. I work in customer service for a financial services firm, so na so-so English person dey speak and write everyday, make I soak myself for pidgin well well, tomorrow we go back to oyibo.

TheGuyFromHR:


There was an extensive discussion of this issue on pages 587 and 588 of this thread. Go through those pages and see the suggestions that people made, starting from word-of-mouth/personal contacts/agencies (the likes of Blue Arrow, Reed and so forth) all the way down.

I know of a couple of students who just walked into a nearby supermarket and asked if they had some shifts available.

As someone else mentioned, you can post an anonymised CV here if you like. However you format it, make it precise and readable. Tailor it to the job you're applying for where applicable. Most of these student jobs are open to all, or are shift/zero hours, so detailled discussion of the size of the CAPEX one managed while working in procurement at Nigerian Breweries for instance should be left for roles where that makes sense. Leave out long talk.

If you're applying online for some of these shift jobs and have to include a cover letter, make sure it's drafted in excellent English. Keep it short too, that way fewer mistakes are made. And, strangest of all, be sure to answer your phone when it rings. Could be anyone. Scammers cant scam you simply because you answered the phone. You're a foreigner with a funny African name and a different accent, so don't compound your job market situation with a "Who is this speaking?" Always answer with a sharp-sounding "Hello. Good morning/afternoon." Wait for the person on the other end of the line, make them talk their own. Make sure your email address is professional - your. name@whatever.com. Leave out the sexydiva443@gmail.com type of stuff. And so on and so forth.

Covid has had one somewhat silver lining - the large number of jobs that have moved online/become remote. Customer service, all that type of thing. You can make up your 20 hours with some of those types of roles, all from the comfort of your home.

Above all, keep at it. Don't get discouraged. When looking for a job, rejections come with the territory.

Correct man.
My late father was a personnel manager, and he always used to talk about the torture of reading application letters in various types of English in those days and na so the man dey worry us to use correct English. Him no dey take letter-writing play. He gave us wey be his children wahala back then, but that legacy is paying off now.