It’s never too late to learn Administration and IT
The Marketing team has been set a task to spend a day in the life of a student. Our aim is to provide an insight into some of our courses to help us provide better information to applicants.
Caroline Greer spent a morning in class with Jess Kirkwood, a HNC Administration and IT student who is 47. Jess was very excited as she had just passed her Graded Unit and was in class for her Visual Communication and Social Media module – this was the first class in the College to do this module.
So, with great results and a chance to learn digital marketing skills, it’s been a huge confidence boost to end her year at College.
What made you choose this point in your life to come to college?
I think it was a case of I needed a change, but I wanted to combine old skills I had, with a new skill. I really wanted a job where it suited my lifestyle better. I knew that administration would be a Monday to Friday job allowing me to keep my weekends free. My first course was administration with medical options, which gave me a qualification to work in a doctor’s surgery. I decided to stay on at College and do the HNC, which would give me access to a wider range of jobs as it’s a better qualification.
What worries did you have about returning to education?
One of my main worries was “would I be clever enough?” as I’m well into my late forties, so my memory isn’t what it used to be. Another worry was money, as I’d been funded before for an HNC, and I knew I wouldn’t receive a bursary. Therefore, for my NC I didn’t get any money to come, but got my fees paid, and this year for the HNC, I got a student loan.
Why did you choose this course?
This was the next level up in Admin, the NC was level 5/6 and the HNC is level 7. It is recognised as a really good qualification to have to help you apply for jobs in admin.
What have you enjoyed the most?
I’ve enjoyed my sense of achievement and learning new things again. I’ve enjoyed being part of something that has been loads of fun. Our class get on really well and help each other. You have your pals and you hang about together, you all help each other, that’s the good thing about it – you’re not alone.
What has been challenging?
The pace has been challenging for me. Obviously the higher you go the more pressure there is and juggling your work life balance – what’s happening at home, with the demands of the course, but that’s how you succeed. If it was easy it wouldn’t be worth doing.
What support have you accessed and how has this helped?
I received help from the Inclusive Learning team. I have a hearing deficit, so I made them aware that I might come across some barriers. For my learning to be successful, communication is important. They put things in place for me, and let lecturers know that verbal commands are sometimes difficult for me to pick up, especially when you’re in a big class who are all talking at the one time. It’s up to me to position myself in a place where I can hear and see, and it’s up to me to let them know if there’s a problem. Inclusive Learning are great, they are very accommodating and they do everything they can to help you. So, I’m very lucky.
What advice would you give to other adults thinking about returning to education?
Oh absolutely go for it. There’s no harm in trying, you might surprise yourself. And you might end up with the job of your dreams and if not you’ve maybe met some good pals, so absolutely go for it.
Are you glad you came to college?
Absolutely! I went back to college in 2007/2008, and then I went on to University which was great, but I wasn’t keeping well at that time and didn’t fully complete my course, so that was really frustrating. It’s taken me a good five or six years to have the confidence to say “no, I need to change”. It took a lot of guts to come back, but I’m so glad I did. It’s changed my life, and although there is a lot of pressure I feel more confident than I did.
What are you going to do next/plans for the future?
My plan for the future is to combine my new qualification with something I enjoy. I spent most of my life doing jobs I had to do. Some great, some not so great, so hopefully I can find a job I can do because I want to do it, not because I need to do it.
#NeverTooLateToLearn
To view more information about this course please click here.