News & Events
SkillsTrain Student Completes Course 6,000 Miles Away From Home
In 2007 as a Primary school teacher aged 62, retirement was imminent for Jacquelin Free but, as she was not yet ready to stop work completely, she looked around for something she could do that might combine her existing skills with a burgeoning interest in IT.
The idea of helping others, especially of the more mature age group, to get technically aware appealed to her. However, having no formal IT qualifications she was determined to find a suitable course that would give her the skills she needed but allow her to study in her own time and at her own pace.
Being able to fit her study around work and home commitments was vital especially as, six months into her course, Jacquelin and her husband were transferred from the Exeter in the UK to work in Africa for 3 years. As she was studying with SkillsTrain at home, she was able to continue with her studies 6,000 miles away without a break.
Jacquelin said "I tried to set aside a certain amount of time each week, mostly at the weekends, to concentrate on my studies, setting myself deadlines. The greatest challenge was to keep to a regular timetable of work without my other commitments suffering. It was important to keep focusing on what I was aiming to achieve and to allow nothing deter me, especially such comments as ‘What on earth are you bothering to do this at your age?’"
She went on to say "Studying at home is not an easy option because it is all too easy to say to oneself ‘I haven’t got time to do this today, I’ll do it tomorrow’. Setting aside a regular time for completing assignments is of the utmost importance. It is also vital that other members of the family and friends respect that your course is important to you and allow you the time and space to work unhindered."
During the first year of the course Jacquelin was working as a full time teacher in the Kingdom of Lesotho, which is in Southern Africa. During the second and third year she worked as the school Webmaster and basic IT skills trainer. Although this was not in an industry related to IT, the use of IT was an integral part of work in the modern classroom. She said that when she arrived at the school, the school website was dull and considerably out-of-date. With the knowledge she had gained on the course, she was able to design a new and more exciting website that acted as an important marketing tool for attracting new parents and international staff recruitment.
As a teacher, Jacquelin first became interested in computers and IT way back in the 1980’s. She learnt enough to get by in her job but always wanted to know more. As she neared retirement age, she looked for an opportunity to enhance her existing skills and gain the qualifications to enable her to work part-time from home. Building on the interest she already had in IT seemed an ideal and most enjoyable way forward for her.
When choosing an IT home study course, Jacquelin said "I looked at information from many different companies. When I contacted SkillsTrain, a representative called at my home and talked me through the various options on offer. I found it reassuring to have all my queries answered on the spot and to know exactly what was involved, including the financial implications, before committing myself to signing up for a course. As I often work overseas, it was also important to choose a company that offered courses leading to internationally recognized qualifications."
Jacquelin began her studies in 2007 and said, "When I began the course, the quick feed-back from completed Tutor Marked Assignments was very encouraging. Although my husband and I were transferred overseas when only 6 months into my course, I was able to keep studying in exactly the same way, with my course work arriving by post in good time, just as before. From such a distance, being able to get more or less instant feedback online through Student World was invaluable.
The high points of the course for Jacquelin have been seeing her skills and confidence grow as she completed each section of the course and the thrill of obtaining a Master qualification at the age of 65! She said, "I already had a particular interest in web designing having made earlier attempts at creating simple websites for work. Once embarked on the course however, finding out how to do things properly was very exciting and extremely satisfying.
Jacquelin and her husband have two grown up children in their 30s, both married with one living in London and the other in Kenya.
Jacquelin completed her course 4 months before the end of her overseas work contract and, as CIW is an international qualification with examination centres all over the world, she was able to take her final exams in Lesotho just before returning to the UK. Having returned to the UK she is now hoping that her new qualifications will increase her employment opportunities, enabling her to target in particular, web designing for the more mature non-technical small business people, as well as the recently retired who might be looking to set up family/social/hobbies/local interest web sites.
Press Contact: Terence Holloway-Johnson, johnsont@ringpowersolutions.co.uk
