Barbara Kovacs, finance assistant
Barbara worked as a cleaner on EGIP, and with our support, she is now a finance assistant in the Costain EGIP office.
Barbara arrived in Scotland from her native Hungary in 2015. With limited English, but well educated, she started with VGC as a cleaner, working for the Network Rail Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).
The ambitious 24-year-old proved herself hard-working and determined to succeed, so VGC funded an English course, which she passed with flying colours. That was the first step towards achieving her career goals.
“I was always interested in finance and administration, so I was delighted when the opportunity arose in August 2016 to become a finance assistant working in the Costain EGIP office.”
With the encouragement of Scottish area manager Sean Dempsey, Barbara will undertake an accountancy course starting in September 2017, her first step on the road to achieving a UK professional qualification.
“Learning English and gaining experience in finance has been hard work,” she says, “but it has been worthwhile. I’m very thankful to VGC for its support to date and to its commitment to contribute to the fees for my accounting course. Without VGC’s help, I could not have undertaken the course.”
“When we see drive and ambition in people, we are keen to develop that, and Barbara is a good example of someone whose potential we recognised,” said Graham Piggott, director.