AS part of Adult Learners’ Week people are being encouraged to think about learning new skills.
Taking place all next week, the aim is to help people discover how learning can change their lives.
One woman who experienced first hand the benefits of returning to education is 46-year-old Anita Bennett from Bromsgrove.
Mrs Bennett is a student at NEW College studying the Access to Higher Education in nursing, at Osprey House in Redditch.
Having worked in sales since leaving school, the opportunity to have a career change arose when her company moved premises.
Mrs Bennett, who previously volunteered with the Stroke Association, said: “I contacted various universities and was advised to undertake an access course as it was nearly 30 years since I had been in education.
“I contacted various colleges that did the course and after my interview at New College I decided that was the place to go.
“I liked the environment of Osprey House as it is part of the college but smaller and more homely and less intimidating than the main campus.”
The change of direction is one that Mrs Bennett recommends to anyone.
She added: “The decision to study the access course has changed my life and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
“I have achieved things I never thought possible such as passing a maths exam for the first time and learning IT skills, which were alien to me.”
Mrs Bennett will start an occupational therapy course at Coventry University in September.
For more information about Adult Learners’ Week, visit alw.org.uk.
Reprinted by kind permission of The Bromsgrove Advertiser