This is the first time I’ve done any proper learning…

Charlie is one of our tenants living in Ely who recently requested to see a CHS Information, Advice and Guidance Advisor. He is unable to work at present due to a long term disability, but was interested in finding a course that would give him some more skills.

Charlie is a settled traveller who left school when he was 13. He came out of school with no qualifications and has spent most of his life as a construction worker. Although he feels that he was a tradesman and has many skills, he has no qualifications to back this up and could not read and write until he was in his twenties.

A couple of years ago he decided that he wanted to learn how to use a computer, so he enrolled on a local course. Unfortunately, the course was only run once a week and without access to a computer during the week to practice on, he really struggled to retain any information because of his dyslexia.

More recently Charlie attended an outreach CHS course that we were running in Ely. The offer of a loan of a laptop to practice on for the duration of the course particularly appealed to him. Charlie expressed real pride in completing the course and how much he felt that he had learnt.

“This is the first time I’ve done any proper learning in my entire life. Because I had the laptop, I could go on it every day and I didn’t forget how to do things between lessons.” Charlie now has his own computer and is connected up to the internet. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather on the internet every day because I want to take my grandson camping. We’re really looking forward to it. I’d really like to do another course now.”