Electronic Engineering HNC

Although Emma had always found engineering an intriguing subject at secondary school, she never thought she’d be able to pursue a career in it. After studying a BTEC National Diploma in Electronics at the College, Emma secured a job at a local engineering consultancy firm and decided to enrol part-time on the Electrical / Electronic Engineering HNC to help further her career.

Emma commented, “The College has a really good reputation, which is what attracted me to it as I wanted to gain a recognised qualification. The course is great as I’ve studied things which I wouldn’t necessarily learn in my job role, and it will give me more opportunity to progress in my career.”

Access to Science

Former tattoo artist, Albert, recently returned to education eight years after dropping out of school to retrain for a career in metallurgy. Albert enrolled on an course after receiving financial support from an Adult Learning Grant (ALG). After his course at College, Albert hopes to study material science or engineering at the University of Manchester to pursue his dream career.

Albert commented, “If anyone out there is not satisfied in their job, or is out of work and keen to retrain, I would tell them to go for it, as long as they’ve done their research and know realistically that there are jobs in their chosen field. It’s never too late to return to education.”

Teaching Assistant Level 3

Manchester mum of three has returned to college to train for her dream career in teaching after receiving a Government grant to pay for childcare support. Kalsoom, aged 36, receives a grant from the Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work scheme to pay for nursery fees for her three-year-old son, while she studies for a part-time Teaching Assistant Level 3 qualification. Kalsoom comments, “I lost all of my confidence after I had my children. Now I’m back in college training for a new career, safe in the knowledge my son is being looked after at nursery. I would encourage other mums to look into this – it can make all the difference.”

C&G Level 2 Certificate In Adult Literacy

Alan worked as a mechanic but after four years, the workshop was closed down and Alan was redeployed to a different department. An advertisement he heard on his car radio one day changed his life.

"I was driving home one day and I heard an advertisement on the radio about learndirect. I parked the car and made the call which was to be the best phone call I had ever made. They put me through to Trafford College and I soon signed up for a C&G Level 2 Certificate in Adult Literacy . I then signed up with other courses before being persuaded by my tutors to do the GCSE English course. I'm so glad I've done all the courses as they have helped me enormously in my job as a Licensing Enforcement Officer."

Jade, scooped a rare City & Guilds Medal for Excellence award in recognition of her exceptional work in makeup artistry. Jade, aged 25 from Urmston, had only been studying Makeup Artistry for a year before being chosen for the award from over 1.8 million eligible learners across the UK! A thrilled Jade commented, "I’m absolutely delighted and shocked at receiving my award. I’ve absolutely loved my course at College and can’t thank my tutors enough for all their help and support. I’ve had some incredible experiences and made some valuable contacts along the way." Jade is currently working freelance with Mac and is undergoing test shoots with photographers to build up her professional portfolio.