UNISON Ulearn Northern Ireland

I’ve been a UNISON member for six years and recently completed the Essential Skills Numeracy course which ran in the Ulster Hospital.

I failed maths in school and was always sorry, I didn’t go back at the time. But I soon had a family and then was too busy to go back. I was a stay at home Mum with four kids and as they got older, I wanted to get out of the house, so I got a part time job in a shop for 2 years.

I wanted to work in the hospital and would have like to have been a nurse because I like helping people. A job came up as a care assistant in a local home and I thought it would be a good way to get some experience. I love my job, Loch Cuan is a home for elderly people and we have both permanent residents and respite. It’s just like being part of a family. I really enjoy going to my job every day, it’s sometimes challenging and always rewarding.

I wanted to know how to work a computer and I wanted to get a qualification. At that time I was a member of a local women’s group and we held our meetings in the local learning centre. It was there that I saw the computer class advertised and decided to go for it. I completed my CLAIT and ECDL andit felt wonderful that I passed them and got my certificates.

When I started in Loch Cuan, I was given the opportunity to do an NVQ 2 in Care. It was ‘dead on’. It really made me stop and think about what I was doing in work. I enjoyed the writing and reflecting on my practice, having the computers meant I could type everything up.

Then I heard about the maths class through UNISON and thought this was my chance to get my qualification. It was a small group, which was great, the tutor Derek from WEA was brilliant. He took time with everyone, he explained everything properly and if you didn’t understand something, he explained it again. We covered all the basics plus decimals, measurements, fractions, percentages and ratio. We also had a portfolio to complete. I gained my Essential Skills Numeracy Level 2 and I’ve been able to help my kids with their homework. It’s given me more confidence to look at other courses. I am still thinking that I’d like to do nursing and now there is an Open University route through my workplace, so that might be my next step.