Kayam started his career in the Royal Air force as a medic, before moving on to specialise in languages, and working with various specialist units across a number of NATO countries.

During his 11 years of service, Kayam completed tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. As a British Muslim, Kayam experienced hostility and racism throughout his career in the military, but in the wake of 9/11 this extended to his home community too. 

After being medically discharged from the military in 2010 for PTSD, Kayam struggled to adjust to civilian life, at one point selling scratch cards for £6 an hour with Camelot. But it was a challenge from a cousin, coupled with Kayam’s grit and determination, that took him into the corporate world at the likes of BT and Tesco, where he achieved much success.

Kayam then went on to launch the award-winning Job OppO and OppO foundation – a community that helps former service men and women find employment and adapt back to normal civilian life. 

We talk to Kayam about the societal challenges with mental health, particularly in the military, and the importance of talking openly about how you are feeling.

We also explore how organisations can work with people with real lived experiences to help them understand about how to provide better support to their employees. 

This episode showed us the power of resilience and not being afraid to get knocked down, something Kayam has taken from his experience in the military and applied to his civilian career and OppO, all with a purpose of helping others. 

The Empowered Podcast from Curium Solutions is hosted by Andy Dawson and produced by Monkey Pants Productions. We’d love to hear from you. To contact us, email [email protected]

Job OppO: www.joboppo.co.uk 

OppO Foundation: www.theoppofoundation.com 

Samaritans: www.samaritans.org

Mind: www.mind.org.uk