Participant B completed the Back on Track programme from September 2019 to July 2020. As part of the programme, the participant completed five different qualifications including a Level 2 certificate in Personal and Social Development and a GCSE in Maths.
The GCSE in Maths was a significant barrier to this participants progression, as it really limited what options could be taken across employment, access to College or an apprenticeship.
The participant joined the Foundation as a shy 16 year-old, with a fear of public speaking and concerns around interacting with larger groups. The course tutor offered information, advice and guidance to identify a personalised timetable and learning programme that would help the participant establish what they wanted to do beyond the course. At the point of entry to the programme, the participant had no idea of life beyond the programme so the course tutor pulled a programme together that worked on employability to identify key skills which could then be mapped to a range of industries as the course progressed.
As the course progressed, the worries of public speaking became less and less.
At the start of the course, a team building programme was established to help all participants work together and build confidence as a group. This really helped the participants get to know each other and for this participant in particular, really helped to ease anxieties on public speaking and engaging with their peers. As the course progressed, the worries of public speaking became less and less and the participant ended up being one of the most vocal members of the group and a real mentor to some of the more quiet members, offering support during learning tasks and at challenging times in the course.
When the course was forced to teach online over the lock down period, the participant’s attendance remained high, with work always returned on time and to a high standard. When the Foundation could return to face to face teaching at the end of June 2020, Participant B was one of the first learners to return to the classroom to complete their learning, achieving all five qualification aims, including Maths.
With support from the course tutor, Participant B applied for an apprenticeship at Caterpillar and although they had no idea what career they wanted to take, they knew they wanted to work at Caterpillar as their Granddad had worked their previously.
Participant B successfully passed the interview, with outstanding feedback from the panel and is now continuing their programme of study whilst following in Granddads footsteps at Caterpillar.