Natasha's story
After spending her teenage years being moved around different care homes, Natasha Gibbs quit school at 15 with no qualifications to her name. Now, thanks in part to UK online centres, the 19-year-old single mum is studying for a diploma.
"I had no computer skills whatsoever when I first came here," she says, recalling her first day at Pitman Training Centre in Peterborough in August 2008. "I was always changing schools because I got moved around between different care homes in London and Peterborough. I didn't settle in anywhere, which made it difficult to learn and when I was 15, I stopped going altogether. I didn't see the point.
"I later did a few GCSEs at a college in Peterborough but when I went to the job centre, they would only put me forward for unskilled jobs, which I didn't really want to do. I wanted to find a good office job where I could work sensible hours and earn enough money to give my daughter the start in life that I didn't have. But they told me that to have a realistic chance of getting into a well paid career, I'd need to be able to use email and the internet at the very least. That's when I came to the Pitman Training Centre, so I could pick up the skills I was lacking.
"Like anywhere you go for the first time, I was slightly nervous at first because I didn't know what I was walking into, but I was excited too. I knew it was my chance to catch up what I should have learned at school and develop the skills to get the kind of job I'd always dreamed of. The staff were so friendly it put me at ease straightaway and the myguide courses themselves are so easy to follow, it helps you to feel good about what you're doing.
"I like the style of teaching you get through myguide. I found the courses much easier to understand than the lessons I used to have at school. The audio instructions and the simple layout made for an enjoyable way to learn. In fact, I liked it so much I used to come in Monday to Friday for five or six hours at a time, depending on if I could get a babysitter. That's the other great thing about the myguide courses - they're so flexible you can pick them up and put them down when it suits you, and go over and over anything you're not sure of. Being a single mum, that meant I could dip in and out and fit things around my daughter without missing any classes or lessons.
"Because I put so much time into it, I moved through the myguide courses pretty quickly and my confidence grew with each certificate. It was a fantastic feeling to see my skills improving with each new course. After years of underachieving at school, it felt great to finally prove that, given the right circumstances, I could actually learn and do well."
After finishing the myguide courses in February, Natasha was enrolled on Pitman Training Centre's Executive PA diploma and now has a career plan mapped out.
"Natasha suffered from low self-esteem when she first came here and was very shy," says Ela Lisowska, centre manager at Pitman Training Centre in Peterborough. "But the user journey concept has helped her develop, because the myguide courses are easy to follow and the step-by-step learning has allowed her confidence and skills to grow organically. She didn't know how to switch a computer on when she first came here but now Natasha's studying for a diploma and when she's done that, we'll arrange a work experience place for her in an office. Hopefully that will lead to a permanent job, or at the very least give her the experience she needs on her CV to have the edge over other candidates. We're all really proud of her. She's a lovely girl with a really nice attitude and she'll make someone a fabulous personal assistant or office manager."
Getting online has already made a huge difference to Natasha's life and she hopes that, when she's finished her diploma, her newfound skills will help her find the job she's always wanted.
"I use the internet for lots of things now," she says. "Facebook's good for staying in touch with people. And once I've finished my diploma, I'll search for jobs online too. All the office stuff is online nowadays, and it makes the process of finding and applying for things so much easer.
"I want to get a good job and make a good career for myself. I want to be able to provide my daughter with the stable family background that I never had. The diploma course is putting me on the right track to do that, but I wouldn't have got on it without UK online centres. The myguide courses have given me the IT skills and the confidence to push on and make more of my life. For that reason, I'd recommend them to anybody."