Louise was referred to ANTA at the start of this year by HVOSS, a fellow Building Better Opportunities (BBO) partner.
Registered blind from birth, Louise has been fighting for her rights to education and employment throughout her life.
She says “I have never been employed despite many, many interviews. I have always been told that other people have more experience and pipped me at the post. It’s hard not to feel discriminated against.”
To help Louise succeed, we did our best to remove the barriers that she had previously encountered. Things were made even more difficult due to the country being in lockdown due to Covid. We worked closely with the awarding body Highfield Qualifications to ensure Louise was able to complete the assessments for the courses she had undertaken with us.
At the time she was living with her friend Mark who was also blind, and the strict lockdown measures meant she was unable to access any support to complete the online assessment. Unable to have a reader and scribe we fought hard to find a solution for Louise. It was agreed that we could use a second laptop during the assessment to access the tools Louise needed via Zoom. She went on to pass both the Health & Safety and Mental Health courses with flying colours. We were also able to assist two other visually impaired learners to complete their courses around the same time.
Louise found out about an opportunity with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau during an online volunteering fair and soon had an interview. After spending some time on reception, Louise put herself forward for a Generalist Advisor role and now works two days a week supporting members of the community.
For anyone thinking about joining one of our courses Louise says “The courses were engaging, and fun. The tutor was brilliant and there was always someone on the phone if I needed support. Just give it a go! You’ll get a lot out of it and you have nothing to lose!”
If you'd like to find out more about the courses ANTA Education run, and how we can help you, fill out our contact form by clicking HERE.
Comments