Sandra Weir

Cleaner, Andrews Memorial. Comber

It was a great feeling knowing that I’d done something well

I’ve been working for seven years as a cleaner. I left school with no qualifications, because I didn’t think they were important when I was young. I went into a job in a factory where I didn’t need qualifications and I was just glad to be earning money. It was actually my children who encouraged me to get back into learning. I was helping them with their homework and I thought to myself, I could do this.

So when I got a letter from UNISON about the Return to Learn course, I thought this was exactly what I needed to start me off. Saying that, I had no idea really what to expect. The course looked at Maths and English, but in a way that was completely different than school. It was a tough course and there was a lot of reading to do. There was also homework and assignments, which I enjoyed doing. We could hand them in and the tutor would go through it with you to tell you what was good and where could be improved. With the feedback, I could go and rewrite it. It was a great feeling knowing that I’d done something well and I really noticed my improvement. It helped my confidence knowing that I could achieve and on a practical basis has helped me with things like letter writing.

It really took the fear away of learning, I know I don’t have to be frightened, I know I can do this. I’d like to do other courses and develop new skills. Maybe in the longer term, change my job, but I like what I’m doing at the moment and it suits me.