Read about all our winners from 2007 here
Eugene Carr, aged 48, from Walthamstow
Eugene is profoundly deaf, has a visual impairment and learning difficulties.
His first language is British Sign Language. Three years after being made
redundant and not being able to find employment, Eugene embarked on an NVQ and
gained full time employment.
Eugene’s mother was planning to return to Jamaica. Worried that he had no means of supporting himself he was referred to Newco Employment and Training. He decided to enrol onto an NVQ1 in Performing Manufacturing Operations, with the aim of working in a factory environment.
Eugene had not studied for a qualification before. However, despite his difficulties, within 18 months he successfully completed his NVQ and gained full time employment at a local factory. Eugene is also a keen member of his local deaf club and has become a voluntary mentor to them, encouraging them and promoting the benefits of learning. Many of the members are working towards NVQs.
His advisor Caroline Waters from Newco, says: “Thanks to Eugene we now have quite a lot of profoundly deaf trainees!” He attends weekly Skills for Life classes to improve his literacy and numeracy and has completed Safe Moving and Handing, and Health and Safety courses.
Eugene says about his learning, “Initially I was nervous, I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but it was easy to understand, and I could do it at my own pace…I feel good, not as frightened as I used to be to ask. I have the confidence to do that now”.
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Crisis Skylight, East London
“Over half of all homeless adults have low or no qualifications and 86% are
unemployed. 81% suffer from drug or alcohol addiction and 50% suffer from mental
ill health. A homeless adult is 13 times more likely to have experienced
violence than a member of the general public”, says nominator Marion Phillip.
Crisis Skylight, a learning and activity centre in East London, aims to tackle
these realities by offering homeless adults opportunities to take part in
creative and practical learning alongside non-homeless people – a pioneering
approach.
Working with organisations as diverse as Newham College, Cardboard Citizens and sandwich-chain Pret A Manger, Crisis Skylight offers not only open-access engagement activities and education courses providing accredited qualifications, but also employment and employability programmes. 70 workshops per week – in topics such as woodwork, interview techniques and Tai Chi – are run at the centre, together with more structured self-development courses in literacy, numeracy, IT and English for Speakers of Other Languages. Vocational placements are also offered in social enterprises, such as the Skylight Café in which Crisis provides training opportunities in catering whilst supported volunteer placements at its head office and at the learning centre itself are available too.
With a primary focus on ‘hidden homeless’ adults – those living in temporary accommodation, especially hostel dwellers – the centre’s Learning Zone alone engaged with 342 learners in 2006 who achieved 312 qualifications. Monthly discussion sessions are held with learners and the Head of Skylight; learners elected by their peers to the member forum meet every six weeks with the Head of Structured Learning; and both two and six months after finishing their courses members have ‘end of course appraisals’.
Skylight recognises ‘the importance of quality of space’, Marion explains. “The service is delivered in a beautiful, inspiring building with excellent facilities for learning…We provide learning opportunities and facilities in the voluntary sector which meet the standards expected of mainstream providers.” And learners agree. As one said, the course “helped me with my confidence,… a sense of achievement, purpose and structure in the daytime. It was a very powerful kick up the bum for me. It makes you think about your situation and it makes you pick yourself up…”
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Dawn Stokes, aged 38, from Birmingham
Mother-of-seven Dawn Stokes is building herself a new career in the
construction industry. She had a burning ambition to follow in her father’s
footsteps and work as a builder. After his death and the breakdown of her
marriage she decided to realise her dream and start training.
“I decided to make positive changes to my life,” she says. “I wanted to be a good role model to my children and make them proud of me. I also wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of being a builder.”
Dawn had to break down many barriers. It was daunting joining a male-dominated environment and her Jobcentre adviser suggested she might be better suited to hairdressing or care. But she stuck to her guns. “It took a lot of persuasion to convince people that I was capable of working in the construction industry,” she says. “But I eventually convinced all those who doubted me.”
She has gained a variety of trade qualifications – including Foundation Construction Award and City & Guilds Skills Test in Bricklaying. She has also taken additional specialist qualifications which will be beneficial to prospective employers. And she has since enrolled on a Plastering course and NVQ Level 2 Bricklaying.
Dawn has now been offered a job at Sandwell College passing on her skills to
others.
“I think adult learning is a great way of allowing people to follow their dreams
and change their lives,” she says.