Success Stories – Tahmid Ahmed, Fraud Investigator, Tower Hamlets Council

Tahmid Ahmed, Fraud Investigator, Tower Hamlets Council describes his role and how the L4 Counter Fraud Investigator has complemented his learning and career journey.

Please tell us about your role and what it involves on a day-to-day basis?

I am a Counter Fraud Officer and have been working at the Tower Hamlets Council since 2020. I started my journey as a business support assistant in Adult Social Care, then made the transition to the Fraud team. I have had the opportunity to complete a two-year intensive Counter Fraud course with Intelligencia, which has enabled me to become a qualified fraud investigator.

We are assigned numerous cases on a daily basis, consisting of both social housing and corporate cases. We investigate allegations that come through a variety of sources, create plans and conduct investigative work in line with the policies and procedures set out in our anti-fraud strategy plan.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The satisfaction of being in a position where I can make an impact to the local community. We are all aware of the housing situation within the borough and tackling fraud matters relating to social housing has a massive impact on the residents who are waiting to be re-housed.

You won Apprentice of the Year at the Tower Hamlets Council Staff Awards. How did you feel when you found out that you had won? 

I was pleasantly shocked to see my name on the nominations list and did not expect to hear my name being read out as a winner. I am extremely grateful to my manager Rob Watt for his continuous mentorship and support from the start of my journey. With the help of my colleagues, I have managed to put my head down and focus on this course over the past two years and it is a great honour to have won this prestigious award.

I would like to add some words about the L4 Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship that I have successfully completed.

The course has enabled me to become a qualified fraud investigator and I am grateful to Intelligencia for allowing me to take part. I would like to than Ian Hendley for being a great mentor to me throughout the apprenticeship. The course is great because it covers all aspects of fraud and also gives you an insight of how things would be on the outside world. It is an intense programme but once you complete it, you feel extremely satisfied with the knowledge you have. It is a very well-thought out programme, covering all aspects of fraud.

Nick Atkinson, Commercial Director at Intelligencia Training added that it is amazing to see Tahmid successfully navigate his apprenticeship programme and achieve parity in skills and knowledge with so many other public and private sector fraud investigators. The key to success is the support and guidance shown from both an employer/manager perspective but also from the specialist tutors who also have real world experience in this challenging sector.

Tahmid’s manager, Rob Watt, Investigations Manager commented ‘I gained funding for an apprentice role in my service. The response I got was overwhelming and Tahmid was the successful candidate in over 100 applications. Right from the start he impressed me with his openness and candour displaying a great desire to learn. His diligence and application have been outstanding throughout his training and he is well liked by the rest of the team all of whom have years in the profession. He listened and learned which is one of the reasons I nominated him for apprentice of the year, and he was a well-deserved winner. In closing I have managed to secure a one-year FTC for Tahmid at the conclusion of his apprentice contract, and I am looking forward to seeing him further develop as a person and a Fraud Investigator.’

You can read more about Intelligencia Training and their levy funded apprenticeship programmes at www.intelligenciatraining.com