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The WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) is winning the fight against gremlins through their Essential Skills courses. 1 in 4 adults in Northern Ireland have problems with reading, writing and maths. One learner who has overcome these problems with the WEA is Rab Robinson.
Rab took the plunge with WEA to free himself form his gremlins
Rab left school early, keen to get out the gates and away. Two years ago he took the plunge and returned to learning with the WEA in a bid to free himself from his gremlins and fulfil his aim of securing a new job. Since then he has successfully completed no less than 3 Essential Skills courses.
Rab began with a course that was offered by the WEA in partnership with his employer, Belfast City Council. Having enjoyed this course and gained the confidence to continue he then enrolled in 2 further courses with the WEA which he did in his spare time.
Recently he completed his Essential Skills Level 2 which is of an equivalent standard on the National Qualifications Framework to GCSE English at A*-C grade.
Reflecting on his experience Rab commented:
"I really enjoyed the courses. The tutors were very reassuring and encouraging and understood that we were adults with other commitments. I found the classes relaxed and informal, not at all like school.
"Everyone in the group supported and helped each other and I’m still in touch with several of my classmates.
"Before I began these courses I tried to avoid filling in any forms and I was nervous if people were watching me write or even sign my name. I started from scratch, learning how to do joined up writing, but now people ask me for help and advice completing forms and preparing for interviews and I can help my son with his homework."
Not only this but he has achieved his main aim and has a new job within Belfast City Council as a team leader.
However, Rab’s success doesn’t end there. In June he took part in the RaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacy) conference at Queens where he gave a presentation that was part of his level 2 course, to an audience of over 200 people.
His presentation focused on the various murals around Belfast. He explained who they were of, what they represented and where they were located. He comments "although I was nervous this was a real achievement for me and evidence of how far I’d progressed."
Rab has already recommended these courses to many of his workmates and plans to start a Maths course with the WEA in September and perhaps follow this with an ICT course, something he never thought he would even consider.
Rab is quick to point out that he couldn’t have done this alone and considers the support of many people such as Noel Hunter a community worker who encouraged him, his classmates and not least his WEA tutors to have been an enormous help.
One of Rab’s tutors was Sue Cathcart, who has been a WEA tutor for over six years. Sue feels that it’s not only the individual learners who benefit instead she considers learning to be a shared experience for the whole group.
The most satisfying thing about tutoring is seeing someone who had very low self esteem on day one change and grow in stature as they gain confidence in their own abilities. This has a real impact on their daily lives and also touches their families and the people around them.
I’ve never had a job where I’ve laughed so much, which probably makes me sound a bit unhinged but I think that humour in learning is very important.
Sue also finds being a WEA tutor extremely enjoyable. She would encourage anyone who would like to brush up on their reading and writing or maths to come along to a WEA Essential Skills class.
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