Banking on Progress, Landing on Purpose

On Valentine’s Day February 14, 2025, Olubukola clocked out for the last time as a casual worker at Progress. She will return—not as a temporary staff member, but as a full-time employee that, in her words, “gave me the wings to fly.” 

It has been a journey of quiet resilience. 

When Olubukola first walked through the doors of Progress nearly a year ago, she was an international student from Nigeria, juggling her studies in public health while seeking meaningful work in a new country. The world around her was unfamiliar, each step forward filled with both ambition and uncertainty. Like so many before her, she arrived in the United Kingdom with dreams in her suitcase, determined to carve out a future for herself. 

She had options—she could have worked through an agency, the kind of job that offers shifts without much continuity, where one day’s assignment might bear no resemblance to the next. Instead, she chose to join the Progress casual staff, a decision made with careful intent. “I felt like casual worker for Progress would make me know the company better,” she says now, sitting more comfortably in a meeting room at the head office. 

A Bridge Between Temporary and Permanent 

The “casual worker” programme at Progress is designed as a bridge—a way for workers to test the waters before committing, and for management to see who fits. Some workers stay casual workers for flexibility; others, like Olubukola, find themselves drawn in. 

For Olubukola, it was more than just a job. She found herself immersed in the lives of young people she worked with, many of whom had faced instability of their own. She met other staff members who became family, offering not just workplace camaraderie but an anchor in a foreign country. 

“From my first day, I was nervous,” she recalls. “I asked, ‘Is this a good company?’ And I was told, ‘Just be yourself, do your job, and you’re safe.’” 

She settled in. She grew. Her first months were spent cautiously navigating expectations, watching and learning. Then came the trips. She accompanied two young people on a short holiday trip—a significant moment, she later realised. Typically, such trips are reserved for permanent staff, a sign of trust and integration. 

“I wouldn’t have been taken on that trip if I were agency,” she notes. 

She traveled between different Progress services, met children from various backgrounds, and found herself increasingly at ease in her role. As she moved through different locations—Hilton, Portland, Bridge—she wasn’t just passing through. She was becoming a fixture. 

The Moment of Decision 

It was November 2024 when Olubukola made her decision. She had returned from a trip, looked around, and thought: This is where I want to be. This is home. 

By then, her circumstances had changed. She had graduated, her visa status had shifted, and the reason she had started as casual—flexibility during her studies—was no longer necessary. 

She had also been noticed. Management saw her work ethic, her communication, her ability to integrate seamlessly into teams. When she applied for a permanent role, she had to go through a formal interview, facing the same competency-based questions as any external candidate. She scored highly. 

“The last eleven months has enabled Olubukola to grow in confidence and ability to score so highly, well done,” Andrea Edwards, Progress’ People and Culture manager remarked. 

For Progress, the transition was seamless. The training, the policies—she had already completed them all. 

But for Olubukola, it was more than a contract. It was stability and was also a deeply personal milestone. 

During the interview, her voice catches when she speaks about holidays spent away from home—Christmas, New Year’s, even Valentine’s Day, a day that, this year, will mark both an ending and a beginning. 

“I left home. I left my family. I came to a country where I didn’t know what the future held, but I wanted to strive, to thrive,” she says, tears threatening. “The young people here, the staff—they have been my family.”

Looking Ahead 

Now, with a permanent contract in hand, Olubukola has new goals. She wants to grow within Progress, to give more of herself to the children she works with. “I want to be given the opportunity to showcase my love for the children that I support,” she says. “I want more wings to fly.” 

She laughs when asked what comes next. 

“Manager,” she jokes. Then, more seriously, “I want to keep progressing.” 

On February 25, she will officially step into her new role. What remains is the deeper truth: she has already become a part of Progress. 

And Progress, in turn, has become a part of her. 

You can be like Olubukola, click here to join our casual workers’ programme.