In celebration of Race Equality week

In celebration of Race Equality Week, we have highlighted the journey of one of the Parity beneficiaries Joshua Onoita, who has faced his own personal and professional challenges and has been an advocate for equality.

In May 2020 I was introduced to the Parity Project by a friend as we were discussing our future and the lack of current opportunities available to people during the lockdown. We really felt stuck and both hated the feeling of stagnation looming heavily around us.

I must admit, I was a bit optimistic, and I thought long and hard about whether joining would be beneficial for me. I eventually joined the Parity project at the end of May 2020 after a discussion with the Project Manager, Ade, about how it could help me – specifically with achieving my aspirations. I was given a thorough insight about the importance of having options and always being able to have a strong skill set regardless of what my future goals are, as its important to always make sure you have the skills to survive and adapt anywhere and of course you never know how these skills could benefit you in the long-term. This was highlighted a lot in the session delivered by State Street in the Project Management session.

I learnt the importance of adaptation during my first few sessions on the Parity Project. I specifically enjoyed a session on the importance of technology delivered by a volunteer named Muhammed who works at an IT services company. The topic was very enlightening, I began realising things that I had not necessarily focused on previously and began to understand how technology has transformed and how being competent in technology will always allow you to have the upper hand in society, irrespective of your circumstances, industry, or age. It was intriguing to gain a better understanding of the types of skills and experiences that organisations are constantly in need of, and it finally made sense as to why people constantly seek to upskill themselves – because ultimately upskilling is creating value in that individual.

My perspective at this point changed, I wanted to become more, I wanted to build skills and work in places that would allow me to continue to learn and develop as well as work towards my personal goals at the same time. At this point my intentions were to better my CV, gain more confidence to help me land a job and potentially meet some new people through the networking opportunities of the project, and when a multinational banking and financial services company delivered a session on interview techniques this helped immensely. Since joining Parity, I have developed my skills, changed my perspective completely and most importantly managed to gain a role with the NHS working on the track and trace app. During my time on the Parity project, I attended many insightful workshops which enabled me to secure this role and I would like to continue engaging with further events to continue building my skills, insights and meet the challenges of the future.

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