Helen has completed English, maths and IT qualifications with learndirect. She has now started teacher training whilst volunteering as a tutor for learndirect at Chulmleigh Business and Enterprise Centre. She volunteers 16 hours a week teaching level 1 IT, English and UK Online courses to beginners. She hopes to be able to continue her studies and go onto be a fully qualified tutor. She says her daughter is her inspiration for learning.
Dawn has completed a variety of IT qualifications with learndirect. After completing her qualifications she started doing voluntary work with Oxfam and just eight months later she now runs the Online Team in the local shop. She trains other volunteers to show them everything about working online and says these new skills inspire people and give them confidence.
Troy is an Army learner, and was involved in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2009 which killed three of his friends and left him seriously injured. When he first came to learndirect he was very determined to learn. He’s completed English and maths qualifications and hopes to go onto complete his ECDL. He will be medically discharged from the Army in August and hopes his qualifications will help him in civilian life. Troy also speaks to other injured soldiers and passes on his experiences to encourage others to get involved with learndirect.
Mark has helped a lot of people with computer skills, getting them online, setting up email accounts and helping them search for jobs. He helps at the local church and local charity West End Impact whenever they have computer problems. He is now looking for ways to get computers for the charity so that homeless people can get online to help them with housing, benefits and health and general well being
Samantha completed English and maths qualifications with
learndirect because she wanted to get into university to
do a degree in Nursing. Whilst she was at
learndirect she went out of her way to help other learners
who were struggling with using a computer or didn’t have the
confidence. She’s now due to start at university in September.
Read more about Sam's
story here.
Michaela has completed English, maths and IT qualifications with learndirect, with the aim of being able to sign up to the Open University to study Social Science, Politics and International Studies. She has encouraged her friend to join learndirect by taking her through the website and logging into the learning planner to show her the layout, as well as explaining how easy she had found it to fit around her young child. She hopes to go on and encourage even more people to go back to learning.
Michelle has completed a number of IT qualifications with learndirect. Her enjoyment of the courses encouraged her to apply for a new role at work, and she is now the central point of contact for people to discuss staff development courses. She has inspired a number of colleagues to come to learndirect, whether this is to improve their IT skills or increase their confidence in English and maths. A lot of them wouldn’t have had the confidence to come forward to develop themselves if it wasn’t for Michelle’s encouragement and support.
Salmon had no prior qualifications from this country when he came to learndirect but was determined to improve his skills and career prospects. He had no experience of learning online so this was all new to him. Salmon has enthusiastically encouraged new learners to come to learndirect and has won prizes for the amount of people he has inspired through the centre’s referral system. He now plans to begin an IT qualification and would like to do an NVQ in Customer Service in the future.
Aaron had no qualifications when he came to learndirect but with the help of the tutors has become enthralled with education. After completing English, maths and IT qualifications with learndirect he went onto complete a number of other qualifications in youth work. A former drug addict and alcoholic, Aaron has turned his life around and now volunteers with the Youth Offending Service and YMCA to help young people from deprived backgrounds. He encourages use of the internet and computers in a number of programmes he’s working on and has helped around 30 people gain access to the internet so far. Aaron now hopes to get funding to build a computer suite at the YMCA to help more members of the community to get online. He is also helping his family by donating his old computer to his brother’s children who otherwise did not have one, and introducing his mum to learndirect. He also won a NIACE Adult Learner Award (North East Regional Outstanding Individual) in 2011. You can read more about Aaron by clicking here.
Ayo has encouraged a number of friends who otherwise had low confidence in using computers. He has helped them set up email addresses and regularly sends them links to online information they may find interesting or useful to their jobs and research areas. He’s shown his wife and other friends the benefits of being online by encouraging them to buy things online and they have saved time and money as a result. He gets involved in lots of online social networks and uses these to pass across his views. Ayo is currently encouraging more friends to join learndirect and hopes to go on to complete more courses in web design.
Ernest is one of our Achievement Award winners from 2010. He completed a number of qualifications with us after being made redundant from the manufacturing industry and went on to become a tutor at a learndirect centre. He has passed on his knowledge to family members, helping them to open their own email accounts, book holidays online and navigate their way through a computer. He’s encouraged people to go to learndirect to complete IT qualifications and has talked them through all the positive outcomes he had from doing his own learning. He believes online is the future.
After completing maths, English and IT qualifications with learndirect Gillian says it has changed her life. She hopes to go on and use her skills to start up her own internet business. She’s introduced a number of friends to learndirect, some of whom had given up on learning after leaving school without qualifications and who now say how much their confidence has grown. She’s also helped her mum get online, and she’s now able to send emails to friends around the world. Every week Gillian gets together with a group of friends to discuss what they can do to help and support each other and they always aim to introduce someone new to learndirect.
Shaun is one of our Achievement Award winners from 2010. He’s had a
number of set backs in life, leaving school with no qualifications to look
after his terminally ill mother. He suffered a traumatic attack a few
years later and was left depressed and scared to leave the house.
After coming to learndirect he’s turned his life
around. He now has a job as a support worker for adults with mental
health problems and runs a computer group where he has adults signed up for
UK Online My Guide and has referred further people onto
learndirect. He wants to expand this computer group and
has the support of his local mayor.
Read more on Shaun's
story..
Paul has completed English and IT qualifications with learndirect and now teaches IT skills to over 60s in an open-access weekly session at his local community centre. Many of his students have bought laptops and ordered broadband thanks to the confidence it has given them. He also helps at other charities providing free IT support as well as providing help to his friends and neighbours. He hopes to expand his weekly sessions and help unskilled unemployed young adults into further education or employment by improving their IT skills.
Lindsey came to learndirect to gain qualifications which
would improve her CV and help her fill in job application forms. Keen
to get a job in admin she was successful in getting interviews but lacked
experience, so began volunteering at the learndirect
centre. She has a great insight into the fears learners have and has
helped them fight these fears. Lindsey wants to continue promoting
learndirect through her son and has been telling all the
other mums and dads at school about the benefits of online learning.
You can read more
about Lindsey by clicking here.
Dawn is our People’s Choice winner from the Achievement Awards in 2010. She
got herself back into work after 12 years of unemployment thanks to the new
skills she gained through learndirect. She had been
caring for her terminally ill father for some of this time and when he
passed away she struggled to find a job due to her out of date
qualifications and lack of IT skills. After completing maths, English
and IT qualifications with learndirect, Dawn was
successful in getting a position as a Community Support Worker and she has
since been promoted. She is now able to help her son with his
homework and makes an excellent learndirect Digital
Champion by passing on her knowledge to friends and encouraging her clients
at work to get involved with learndirect too.
Read more about Dawn's
story..
Lloyd left school at 16 with no qualifications and was out of work for three years with depression before coming to learndirect. He had a passion for computers but not the qualifications that would help him get into work. After improving his maths, English and IT skills he’s now got a great job as an IT technician which he found online!
Thanks for your help,
The learndirect team