Before coming to Care Training East Midlands, Marie Henrys was a full time mum to her two girls, now aged 10 and five.

Marie had always talked about completing a training course in Business Administration; however she wanted to wait until both her children were in school. Through her meetings with her Jobcentre Plus Adviser, Denise at Arnold, Marie heard about Care Training East Midlands’ New Deal Business Administration programme for Lone Parents (now replaced by Routes into Work for Business Administration).

Marie wanted to get some up-to-date skills to support her in finding a job. The tailored programme meant Marie could complete the programme around school time and she could start at a time that was convenient to her. So, Marie had Denise arrange that as soon as her youngest daughter started school Marie would start her New Deal for Lone Parents Business Administration programme.

Despite already having her GCSEs in English Literature and Language, Marie felt that her maths skills let her down. She was extremely focused in achieving this. She spent the majority of her time at Care Training completing lessons and practise papers for the Certificate in Adult Numeracy (GCSE equivalent). Eventually after her hard work she sat the test and passed at Level 2. She said, “I had a grin on my face all day, I couldn’t believe it!”

Alongside her efforts to complete her Maths qualification, Marie also completed a placement with Care Training East Midlands. Every Monday and Wednesday was spent in placement with the New Deal Recruitment Team. She completed tasks such as CV writing and supporting other New Deal customers in job searching. This all served to give Marie some experience to apply to her own CV.

Marie successfully completed a Work Trial at Central Skills and was offered a contract of employment to fit around her childcare. She acts as Tutor Support to the Literacy and Numeracy tutor. She supports the customers with signing up to Learndirect, marking test papers and providing support to Literacy and Numeracy queries.

Steve Webb, Marie’s manager at Central Skills commented, “Marie’s confidence has grown immensely since starting with Central Skills. She has settled in pleasantly with the staff and the customers. She is doing very well.”

Of her experience with Care Training East Midlands Marie says,
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Care Training East Midlands and the Business Administration programme. It has been really rewarding!”

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