Ajai Singh is thrilled to be creating a new future in healthcare. “I am overwhelmed!” 

The 52-year-old has secured a full-time job as a caregiver in an Avondale nursing home. He started this month caring for people in the West Auckland home's dementia ward.

Ajai graduates soon from the NZ Cert in Health & Wellbeing (Social & Community Services) (Level 4) with a strand in Mental Health and Addiction Support. “The course I am studying at Future Skills Academy has opened other avenues for me and taught me more about making connections with other people. Mental health issues have been very close to my heart, so I took the opportunity to study this programme. I like listening to others’ life stories about what they are going through.”

He has been relishing the discussions in class between the lecturers and students as well as the visits from guest tutors. “I really would like to pass my gratitude to all my classmates, my tutor and the Future Skills Academy staff.”

Outside class, India-born Ajai gives back to the Indian community by supporting their mental wellbeing and helping victims of family violence. “I am passionate about meeting people and seeing if they need me for any kind of support. I am very emotional and cry in a matter of seconds if I come across any sad story.” He is a small investor in shares and properties, “my bread and butter.”

Before enrolling at the academy, he laboured as a housekeeper, a kitchen hand, and a packhouse worker. In his leisure time, Ajai is an avid traveller. He loves crafting stories about himself and the people he meets.