Train to Gain helps Nottingham care worker develop her career
A 25-year-old care assistant from Sherwood in Nottingham is benefiting from the LSC's Train to Gain service, which has enabled her to study for an NVQ, as well as completing a Skills for Life adult literacy course.
Melissa Conway, in Carlton, was encouraged to consider enrolling on a training course by her manager Roy Hadfield. Roy had contacted local training provider, Access Training (East Midlands), who were able to assess some of the staff for their suitability for NVQs and Skills for Life training.
As a result, Melissa signed up to do an NVQ Level 2 in health and social care, but her initial assessment showed that she would need support with her literacy skills in order to complete the course.
Claire Lloyd, key skills tutor at Access Training, said: "Melissa has dyslexia so we arranged for her to be assessed by the British Dyslexia Association, then carried out our own assessment, and put a literacy programme together specifically for her.
"In her care assistant role Melissa doesn't need to write a great deal, but she does have to write care plans and reports for shift handovers, so we did a lot of work on structuring text and working with her on spelling particular words that are useful in her job. We also helped her develop her handwriting, and taught her techniques such as sounding out words and using word association to help her.
Melissa achieved her Level 1 certificate in literacy in December 2007. She said: "I did find it hard work doing both the courses, but I enjoyed it and it was definitely worth it. I would like to do more training in the future and get more qualifications to help me in my career."
Lisa Walsh, Skills Development Manager, Skills for Life, at the Learning and Skills Council said "Train to Gain provides a valuable opportunity for employers to support their employees in developing skills. One of the benefits is that eligible learners have the opportunity to develop their literacy and numeracy skills ensuring they are suitably prepared before progressing onto an NVQ, which is often the qualification required by employers."
For more information on Train to Gain telephone 0800 015 5545, or visit www.traintogain.gov.uk
Melissa Conway, a care assistant at Highclere Residential Care Home in Carlton, Nottingham, with Edna Dewar (89), one of the residents.