Will is a very unique young man who cares for our community and the current ageing population we have. Will decided to become a care worker so he could share his passion for the community and at the same time keep his service users happy and engaged with life. It is very unusual to find the younger generation working in the care industry and enjoying the role at the same time.

Will said: ” I wanted to do work that would give me the opportunity to meet and help people in unusual or difficult circumstances. To learn more about others peoples struggles and to gain a greater appreciation for the things I take for granted. I also believe that kindness is a muscle of sorts. If you don’t make use of it, it fades, and it’s all too easy to become hardened by the trials we face beyond the ability to empathize effectively with others”

Will’s manager Seymour felt that he needed to be rewarded for his hard work in the industry whilst adding to his CPD and realising his true potential in the job role.

Seymour said: ” Will is someone who wants to give something back at such a young age and works in a industry where he not only gives 100 percent to his clients but keeps them entertained at the same”.

The employer felt that Will would benefit from some CPD and training by under taking a few selected units in health and social care where Will feels he is lacking in. Under the Skills Support for the Workforce provision funded by ESF Will, the employer and CECOS sat down and worked out a training package that would benefit him and his company to grow.

Will Said of his training: ” By taking this training I want a greater understanding of how the health and care industry provides help to those in need. I also have aspirations of becoming a drama-therapist during my down time as a performer, but wish to gain a wider range of knowledge and more experience in the health and care industry before pursuing a more specific field which will help in the long run help my company grow.”

Will hopes to complete his training when he feels he can use his new found confidence to help the company grow and some day branch out into therapist provision for his clients.

Heather had a child at a young age and as a result had left school without achieving any GCSEs.  She felt that as she had been out of education for a while and she had lost her confidence in her abilities to study and achieve any formal qualifications. Whist Heather was working for a care agency she was offered the opportunity to work towards Diploma Level 2 in Health and Social Care funded by ESF. Heather felt she was not ‘academic’ enough to achieve a whole Diploma. With the support and encouragement from her manager and CECOS team Heather decided that 25 to 36 credits (SU3) would be achievable with the support of her assessor.

Heather and her assessor Jennifer worked together on a one to one basis discussing and planning together how the learning outcomes of the units that both Heather and Jennifer thought would help her improve her confidence and be of a benefit to her and her employer.

Heather and Jennifer met together every couple of weeks and worked together to achieve units in both Health and Social Care and customer service. At each meeting Heather brought in work that she had been set by Jennifer and the next unit to be covered was then discussed and guidance given on how Heather would achieve her learning outcomes. As Heather progressed through the units she and Jennifer had chosen her confidence steady grew and she learnt more about her job role and her own abilities.

“Working with Jennifer has shown me that just because I did not achieve any qualifications at school, it is never too late to learn. I would like to train as a nurse and work in a hospital. Completing these units has been my first step on this journey.”

Heather was pleased to achieve her units and her confidence has grown enormously. On completion of her units Heather asked Jennifer if she could complete Diploma Level 2 in Health and Social Care. She felt that  just starting with a few units had given her an insight into her own abilities and her potential to go further. Heather is now embarking on Diploma Level 2 in Health and Social Care. Heather’s long term goals are to complete her level 3 Diploma and go on and train as a registered nurse. Heather said that after completing these units she is “one step closer to her dreams”.

“Whilst working with Heather as her assessor I saw her blossom into a confident learner and care worker with the potential to go far.”

“Being able to work around my child care and earning money made studying easier. Jennifer was very flexible and we planned together when we would meet. At a college I would have to be there at the same time and place each week and I would have no say as to when this was.”

Sonny Hussein is a 33 year old self-employed driving instructor based in London and as a self- employed person he struggled to find money to invest into his training. This case study shows how the Skills Support for the Workforce provision helped Sonny grow in his profession and grow his business.

Sonny Hussein has been a driving instructor for the last 7 years, where he has taught over 500 pupils in that time. Sonny has always had a passion for driving and teaching so to combine the 2 and become a driving instructor was a natural pathway for him.

Recently Sonny had felt that in regards to his industry he had become stagnant and was not progressing any further in terms or salary and client base, furthermore the driving standards authority conduct audits on all instructors and Sonny had been at a grade 5 for the past 5 years and did not understand why he could not reach that golden grade 6. In February 2014 Sonny made a decision to get some training to allow himself to move to the next stage and grow his company and client base.

Sonny approached Peter the assessor who sat down with Sonny and they devised a training needs analysis which focused on finding out his shortfalls, what he wanted to achieve and how Sonny wanted to grow as a business.

Peter the assessor describes his initial meeting with Sonny;
“Sonny came across as a very passionate driving instructor who wanted to move to the next step in his career, therefore it was decided he would do selected units of PTLLS that would enable Sonny to improve and enhance his teaching style alongside being able to in the future grow the portfolio of customers he has including private companies like British Gas and eventually become a trainer in the police driving squad. The units of PTLLS would also put Sonny in good stead as DVLA were in talks to make it a mandatory requirement for all driving instructors to have some sort of teaching qualification. The units we gave Sonny focused on different teaching styles and mentoring which Sonny felt was missing in his current teaching sessions. The teaching sessions I delivered to Sonny ensured that he highlighted his pupil’s different learning styles and based his teaching methods around that”

Sonny took 5 months to complete the units of PTLLS which involved a combination of completing assignments, being observed in two of his lessons with a pupil and one to one’s with the assessor.

Sonny commented;

“Studying after a long time was hard however the support I got from the assessor face to face, on the phone and by email ensured that I could complete the units in my own time around the needs of my pupils, Peter the assessor also gave me a number of ideas on how I could improve my client base and market myself better”

After completing the qualification Sonny was audited again by the driving standards association where he achieved a grade 6, this now puts him in the top 2% of driving instructors within the country and something Sonny can be very proud of. Sonny has started to promote his PTLLS qualification and grade 6 which was a direct result of the training he got under the skills support for the workforce provision, this has increased his client base by 20% already.

Furthermore with the PTLLS units Sonny has now also started to do freelance work with Virgin Media where he goes out to judge the driving standards of virgin media employees, which again has been a direct result of the Skills Support for the Workforce provision.

 

Sonny stated;

“ After completing my PTLLS units my life has changed dramatically, not only did I achieve a grade 1 as a driving instructor which is near enough impossible to achieve, I have also increased my client base as most companies like Virgin Media need you to have a teaching qualification before they take you on board. My plan for the future is to work for the Essex County Police, training their drivers on safer driving. Furthermore the demand for my services has been so high that I have decided to higher my first member of staff to help with the growing demands.”

Since the completion of the PTLLS course Sonny has progressed onto do a Marketing course so he can promote his services in a proactive manner. The results can certainly be seen in the new website he has developed for his company.  http://www.option2drive.co.uk/

Well done to Peter for exceptional teaching skills and thank you Sonny for all your hard work and commitment- ‘Thank you both for sharing the challenge to secure the future’.

We recently caught up with Sonny to see how the course has changed his life, with an increase in his client base and income being seen in his quarterly accounts, Sonny was able to take out a mortgage on a 3 bedroom house. Previously Sonny had been declined for a mortgage but with his new found skills increasing his revenue he was able to overturn this all thanks to Skills Support for the Workforce. Well done Sonny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!