Victor Bailey started at Peckham in 2016 as a sewer for the Manufacturing line of business. Back then, he didn’t plan to stay long. “It was basically supposed to be just a little something to get me by,” he recalls. At the time, it was all about paying the bills. But as he learned to sew, discovered that he was good at it, and saw he could advance to higher skill levels with better pay, he got serious about the opportunities Peckham afforded him. “That’s when I started to try and boost my career through Peckham,” Victor says.
After mastering several levels of sewing, he became a trainer, teaching others skills to support their families. He found the work particularly satisfying after realizing that he was helping people develop a life skill that allowed them to support themselves and their families… and to put food on the table. He enjoyed helping people grow, which led to a promotion to training supervisor. For a few years, he solved team issues and supported workers, learning what they needed in order to succeed.
After his training supervisor role, Victor moved to Human Services as a program support assistant, managing cases for a year. One standout moment was helping a homeless person find housing by filling out applications and making calls. “That was something I enjoyed,” he said. Now part of the Community Engagement team, he connects people to jobs, a role he loves. “The amount of people that I know that I’m helping obtain employment, it just means a lot to me.”
Growing up, Victor figured his most likely career would consist of working at General Motors, “building engines and just being a part of the numbers.” Instead, Peckham started him down a path he could have scarcely seen himself travelling. “I never thought that I would be a supervisor or be working in Human Services… or even working in Community Engagement,” he said. His varied roles—sewing, training, supervising, case management—gave him skills to excel, especially in his current job. He can relate to candidates because he started where they are. And he can’t wait to see where the future takes him.
Victor credits Peckham for giving him the opportunity to grow. From a team member sewing garments for the military to a staff member shaping lives, his story shows how a job taken to pay the bills can become a career spent helping others tap into their potential. With plans to become a Coordinator or Manager next, Victor’s journey at Peckham proves that talent, hard work, and a solid support system can take you far.