Learning Works- Go for it! Your guide to Continuing Education courses in Stockport
Hester opens the door to a new job H
ester Blackwell can’t praise the staff at Open Door in Bridgehall enough. Hester says: “Open Door is an advice centre, which I first visited with my partner when he was trying to find a job. Now thanks to the staff there I have a job I love in a local nursing home.” Hester’s partner visited Open Door in August last year when he moved to the area from Wrexham with Hester and their four children. During his frequent visits to Open Door, Hester often accompanied him. She realised her partner was having difficulty finding work and used the computer facilities to access a job website. On the site, Hester found a job advertised at a nursing home in Shaw Heath, which really appealed to her. Hester says: “I hadn’t worked for seven years, as I’d stayed at home to look after the children. The Open Door team gave me confidence to apply for the job and I got so much help from them. I didn’t have an up to date CV so the team helped me put one together. They also gave me a trial interview so when I had to go along for the real thing it wasn’t so daunting. I was worried I didn’t have the appropriate skills needed for the nursing home job but the Open Door team sat down with me and discussed my life and previous work experiences. It soon became clear to them that I had developed the necessary skills in previous unrelated jobs, which were easily transferable to the position I was applying for.” Hester continues: “As a result of all the help I was given at Open Door, I got an interview for the position of Healthcare Assistant at the nursing home and was successful. I absolutely love my job. Since getting the job, I have completed a NVQ in Health and Social Care and been on lots of courses. I don’t think I would have got this job if it hadn’t been for the help and support of people at Open Door. As the office is just around the corner from where I live I still pop in to say hello. I think everyone there does a brilliant job. I know I have a lot to thank them for.”
July – August 2010
It’s never too late to learn Page 8
Love food? Page 2
A write good time Page 8
www.stockport.gov.uk/continuingeducation Freephone Helpline 0800 389 0804