A Downham mum has encouraged other women who are having children to "never feel like you aren’t good enough" after her battle to get back into work.

Melissa Sheppard, 35, gave birth to her daughter last year before being apprehensive about returning to employment.

The healthcare project administrator benefited from a training programme run by Successful Mums at the Glades Shopping Centre.

This free back-to-work course, Plan G, is returning to The Glades this month and the seminar covers things like CV support, work-life balance and interview techniques.

Melissa said: "Like countless women, I found it difficult as a single mum to have the confidence that being back to work wouldn’t change the relationship with my daughter.

"I heard about the Successful Mums course at The Glades through a recommendation from a lady at my local jobcentre. She had received excellent feedback from other mums, and I had pretty much given up hope of having a good work-life balance, so I thought I’d give it a try.

"Once there, I found that I wasn’t alone and every person around the table had the same insecurities as me. I had been so worried that my CV had huge gaps and the working world had moved on so much, while I was going to playgroups and watching Peppa Pig.

"I was concerned I wouldn’t find a job that I loved and one that would make my daughter see me as a positive role model."

However, Melissa said she found a job at HCP Social Infrastructure within six weeks of the course after describing her CV as the best it has ever looked.

Successful Mums was started by Bromley parent Jane Knight who had her own roadblocks after having a child before inspiring her own career path.

She said: "It can be quite isolating, especially if you don’t want to go back to the same type of role and want to do something different that fits in around your family.

"That’s where we can step in and offer a starting point and career advice to give clarity about options.

"The majority of ladies we help haven’t recognised the parenting skills they have such as negotiation, time management, conflict management, organisational and creative skills can be taken into the workplace."

Jane said her company has helped 4,500 women since being launched in 2014.

The workshops in The Glades will run from 10am until 2pm from April 24 until May 1.