Success Story - Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott from Chester-le-Street was made redundant from his job at the end of last year and for the first time in his working career found himself out of work.

Overwhelmed by the prospect of returning to work, a chance meeting with a Learning Links advisor at his local JobCentre, gave Bill the hope he'd been looking for.

Bill comments: “I hadn't had to think about recruitment for more than 20 years but as soon as I did, it became clear that I would need to update my skills and learn new ones if I was to become an attractive prospect to any employer.

“As soon as I visited the Learning Links Europe centre I immediately felt at ease. Despite my fears that I'd be returning to the classroom the centre's individual learning plan approach meant I could learn at my own pace, at times to suit me.

“After an initial assessment and an in-depth talk with the Learning Links Europe team I enrolled on a literacy and a numeracy course and quickly recovered my skills. I was thrilled to pass at level two – it was a huge achievement.

“After getting these qualifications under my belt I was keen to pursue an IT course. Despite using a computer at work I wanted to know more. The team developed a course plan that would refresh the basics and take me further, giving me an in-depth knowledge of full Microsoft operating system.”

Bill passed his CLAIT qualification and has completed all of the units for his European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) – passing his test with flying colours.

He continues: “It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. My confidence has increased dramatically and I now feel like I have much more to offer to employers.

“I'm so thankful to the Learning Links team. The atmosphere at the centre is friendly and relaxed and I love going - I know they'd do anything they could to help me.”