"The course has given me a new life and made me believe that I can do what I want to do. Now the course is coming to an end, I can honestly look back and say that I’m pleased I took the step to further my education."
Kelly Bridgewater studies our Level 3 Diploma in Business and Administration with functional skills maths, English and IT.
“Let me set the scene of the type person I was before, and explain how studying has changed my outlook and who I am now. When I was at school, I had no love for learning new things and would do everything in my power to rebel against studying – specifically mathematics and English. I thought educating myself was a waste of time, and couldn’t see the benefits. A typical teenager!
“Fortunately, South East Water gave me the opportunity to learn additional skills that would help me within my role of Senior Customer Service Advisor and, after recently completing a Customer Service NVQ, I made the decision to continue studying – shocking, I know!
“After really suffering with a phobia for anything maths-related, I knew that, on this occasion, I had to really put extra effort in, whilst balancing my home life with two very energetic children.
“With my new role of Senior Customer Service Advisor in full swing, I found I was able to use my skills every day, and the unit ‘how to communicate in a business environment’ really helped when having to decide which form of communication to use. It enabled me to communicate effectively with my Senior Management Team along with my team, something that I hadn’t been able to do confidently before.
“As the course continued, I came to one of my worst fears, exams! I ended up sitting up all night going over notes upon notes, trying to ensure that I was as fully prepared as possible, whilst continuing to tell myself that I could do it. Then the day came for my exams and I couldn’t have felt more unprepared and worried. I passed the exams though! Passing those exams, wow, did my confidence go through the roof. Chris (my tutor) was proud, and, at that point, I knew I had not only achieved what I thought was impossible – but I was now ready to take on more exams, filled with confidence that I could achieve more.
“The course has given me a new life and made me believe that I can do what I want to do. Now the course is coming to an end, I can honestly look back and say that I’m pleased I took the step to further my education. Chris understood that if I wasn’t pushed I would just end up not wanting to do it, so he ensured that he took a different learning route to stop this from happening.
“I would recommend the Diploma to anyone, as there’s so much I’ve learnt which will help me in my role and career. I have now decided to start saving to continue my education to do a degree. I’ve always regretted not going to university since leaving school, and I now feel that I have the ability and self-belief to do so.”
