Shahd Overcomes War and Displacement to Achieve Success

There are many obstacles that adults face when taking on a professional course, whether it’s funding, family commitments or work-study balance.  But Shahd Ahmed was so determined to finish her CIPD Level 3 Certificate, not even war and displacement could stop her.

Shahd, from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, was working as an Executive Secretary at Japan Tobacco International when she fell in love with HR while working on projects with the company’s HR department. 

So, looking for a route into the field, she enrolled on a CIPD Level 3 Foundation Certificate in People Practice with MOL in October 2022. But just six months later, civil war broke out in Sudan and Shahd had to put her studies on hold.

“That time was just awful,” she explained. “There was a lot of bombing and it was not safe for everyone to stay in Khartoum, so I didn't get the chance to finish all of my modules and submit all of the assignments.

“We had to be displaced from Khartoum. We went north and crossed the border and when we were in a safe place in Egypt, I thought, ‘Okay, now I need to be out of this trauma for a bit and just focus on finishing this certification.’”

With MOL’s support, Shahd did exactly that. She said:

I had to resubmit three or four of my assignments and the MOL team were really supportive and understanding of my situation.

“I didn't have internet for a long time, I changed place and I lost my laptop. Thankfully, they extended my resubmissions and they helped me a lot. They were very patient with me.

“I've seen their level of flexibility and humanity. Even when I didn’t have internet to send an email, I would just call them internationally. They pick up and they help you in any way they can. Especially during what happened to us that is still happening now, there is so much empathy and flexibility.”

After overcoming such awful obstacles to complete her qualification, Shahd’s journey wasn’t over. With her family still in Egypt, she decided to move to the United Arab Emirates in search of a career to support her loved ones.

She said: “We lost everything so I came here to find better job opportunities.

There are so many opportunities in UAE and I found that CIPD is a very prestigious certification and respected here. It actually gave me an edge in the market.

“My current employer is Knightsbridge Group. I applied for an Administration Coordinator role but they knew I was expecting my CIPD certification, so they changed my job title to HR and Administration Coordinator and gave me more HR tasks to do.

“I’m currently using a lot of the things that I have learned. Three of the employees here have been hired based on my shortlisting, which is I think it's one of my strongest areas. I keep on learning and I keep on referring back to the modules and assignments that I have done.

“I’m very proud that I did the CIPD Level 3. I've received my certificate and I actually have it in my office. Every time I look at it is a moment of pride.”

Find out more about CIPD courses and qualifications with MOL and contact us today.