Click on the quotes below to see what our learners had to say about training with JGA.
Live-in carer's NVQs open the door to new career opportunities
Professional carer, Sandie Heales, who for the last eighteen years has been a live-in, 24-hour carer for a series of sick and elderly people, has just passed two vocational qualifications in succession and in record time with the JGA Group.
"The NVQs - National Vocational Qualifications in Health and Social Care at Levels 2 and 3 - have given me the option to consider work that is not twenty-four hours a day," Sandie says. "I care deeply for my client and want the best for him, but I'm now ready to make some space for myself and to consider other options in caring work."
Sandie began working as a carer in England in 1990, having spent her teenage years caring for family members in South Africa. She needed the qualification to meet the new statutory minimum requirement for carers, so that she could continue to provide 24-hour care for her elderly client, but it was not until late last year that her employer secured her a place with JGA under the Government’s ‘Train to Gain’ programme funded by the Learning and Skills Council London West.
Sandie says, “The qualification legitimises what I have always tried to do in the care I’ve provided through the years.”
Having completed the NVQ at Level 2 in just two months (from mid-November 2007 to mid-January 2008), Sandie reflected that it had not been as daunting as she thought it would be. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she went straight on to do a Level 3, with the encouragement of her qualification Verifier from JGA, who was certain that it would be appropriate and rewarding for Sandie.
As a live-in carer, Sandie has been able to find times in the day to study. She has worked closely with her Assessor, Babatunde Akanni, who visited often, sometimes twice a week. “I was fortunate that Tunde was as keen as I was to keep up the pace and was prepared to support me so whole-heartedly,” said Sandie.
Tunde, in turn, says, “I was excited by Sandie’s motivation and found it refreshing. She was keen to complete her Level 3 almost as quickly as the Level 2 and I was pleased to be able to help her.”
Sandie completed her NVQ in Health and Social Care Level 3 between April and July 2008, which is in half the average time taken.
This remarkable story of determined study is a credit to all involved. Caring has been and will continue to be a way of life for Sandie. Her vocational qualifications open the door to new career opportunities.
Click here to find out more about NVQs.
"My new job is my future"
For Katie Lumsden, embarking on a “joint venture” with a JGA Skills Coach proved to be the catalyst for a change in attitude, and the springboard to a new job as a Branch Office Administrator for Edward Jones Ltd.
“I am very happy with my new job,” says Katie. “The company tends to go for a more mature person; they really value experience.” And to demonstrate that approach, Edward Jones increased the advertised salary to match that of Katie’s previous position as Adult Education Centre Manager with Surrey County Council.
“The Jobcentre advisors were very keen for me to apply for lower-paid jobs. I have financial commitments and was not in a position to accept a lower salary, and I became quite depressed under their pressure.”
Working for Surrey County Council for 19 years meant that Katie was unfamiliar with the modern format for a CV, and was particularly concerned about attending job interviews. “I did not know what to wear, how to behave, what to say, but I was very impressed with Valeria,” Katie said, referring to her Skills Coach. “She taught me how to sell myself at interviews and not be afraid of being myself.”
For Katie, the continuous relationship with Valeria Coots, a qualified and experienced Careers Adviser, was key to staying positive and, ultimately, finding the right job. Katie was out of work for 4 months before joining Skills Coaching, a programme of sustained advice and support for the unemployed. The role of the Skills Coach is not to force people into work, but to guide and encourage customers towards finding the right job for them.
“I have moved from education to finance. It is a completely new field and I have a lot of learning to do. Thanks to Valeria, I am looking forward to it,” Katie says. “She has proved to me that age is not the obstacle I once thought it was.”
The relationship between coach and customer is a unique element of Skills Coaching, and is often the telling factor for customers improving their confidence, re-assessing the qualities they have to offer employers and, ultimately, finding work. For Katie, it was clearly a huge boost. “You don’t know what you can learn if you don’t try, and you may even enjoy it.”
Sustained success for Sabita
Sabita Radha, a care home assistant at Blandford Lodge Residential Home in Hayes, tasted success again in JGA’s Better English course having passed her third English Speaking Board exam in English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Sabita, originally from Mauritius, has now passed the exam at three different levels since joining her first Better English course in August 2007. Her rapid improvement in speaking and understanding English has enabled her to communicate much more effectively with residents and staff at Blandford Lodge.
Mrs Luchman, Assistant Manager at Blandford Lodge, is very pleased with Sabita’s progress. “Sabita’s confidence in using her English has really improved. She is now much more involved with our residents. I’m comfortable to leave Sabita on her own, and really surprised with her improvement – she can even take messages effectively on the phone.”
Sabita moved to the UK with her husband in 2006, and has been working at Blandford Lodge for 9 months. She intends to stay at Blandford Lodge for as long as she can, and would like to continue to improve her English. “I enjoyed the classes. They have made me more confident and I like to speak to the residents at the care home.”
Click here to find out more about JGA's English classes.
ESP - "There's no better way to learn"
Lufthansa say, “There’s no better way to fly.” Umair says, “There’s no better way to learn!”
This gratifying opinion of the Employability Skills Programme (ESP) came from Umair Ahmed Khan just before he passed his Entry Level 2 exam in English for Speakers of Other Languages. Umair wants to work in customer care for Lufthansa or another airline, and is determined to add English to the list of languages in which he is already fluent – German, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.
“I learn every day. The tutors are determined that we should succeed and are very friendly and supportive. They are the best tutors I’ve ever met!” Umair has also passed his Level 1 Numeracy exam as part of ESP, a training course which aims to increase the skills for work of unemployed people. It is designed to remove barriers to work by providing help with reading, writing, maths or speaking English.
In addition to his praise for the tutors, Umair is very positive about the friends he has made on the course. “The atmosphere is very friendly and it is as though
we’ve known each other for years not weeks,” Umair says. “We do not shame anyone if they make a mistake, we just learn from them.”
Umair came to England from Germany in August 2007; his wife and 18-month-old son are currently living in Pakistan. He was struggling to find work when his Jobcentre Plus Personal Adviser suggested he join the Employability Skills Programme. “I really enjoy the course, and if I concentrate and listen carefully I can learn well.”
ESP is available to anyone who is 18 or over and in receipt of benefits. Learners spend up to 20 hours a week for as many as 18 weeks on ESP, and the training will lead to qualifications in literacy, numeracy or ESOL, and in employability.
Umair now wants to continue studying English and also study computer skills, and hopes to start a course under Learn Direct in September. Whatever he does, he is certain that ESP gave him the boost he needed: “There’s no better starting place to give you the impulse to go forward.”
Click here to find out more about the Employability Skills Programme.
Oscar's exam success continues family tradition
Success in JGA’s Better English course and exam has enabled Oscar Wasike to realise his dream of joining the British army, just as members of his family have done for generations.
Oscar, originally from Kenya, can now join his father, uncle and two cousins in service, having passed the English Speaking Board exam in English for Speakers of Other Languages. “I am very happy,” Oscar said. “My confidence has improved, and the teacher was very professional. I want to be in the army for the rest of my life.”
Oscar’s class, a group of adult students from across west London, continued the remarkable success of the Better English classes, organised by the JGA Group, a training and career development company which trains hundreds of adult learners at their training centre in Eastcote, or in their place of work. 
Small, workshop-style classes allow students to learn and also to make friends, and have led to a success rate of 95% in the English Speaking Board exams over two years.
Oscar, who moved to the UK at the beginning of 2008, had been accepted for the army on every count apart from his ability to speak and understand English. He came to Eastcote after picking up a flyer in his local library, and the intensive course was exactly what Oscar was looking for to improve his English in time for the next round of interviews with the army.
Following his exam success, Oscar has moved from West London to take up his post with the army. He intends to return to Eastcote on the 23rd of July, to share his experience of Better English with Nick Hurd MP and other successful JGA students at a celebratory event to coincide with Vocational Qualification (VQ) Day.
Click here to find out more about JGA's English classes.
JGA training gives local businessman new confidence
“My ambition now is to begin a new business venture. I am confident in my abilities as a businessman and in my new found writing skills for letters, plans and other forms.”
Shaukatali Hirji’s new confidence comes from having completed the Employability Skills Programme (ESP). He had no problem with numeracy and his English speaking was fine, but he needed to improve his written English and ESP has made that possible.
When I met Shaukatali to talk about his experience with JGA, he first told me about his arrival in England in 1974. I have tried to capture his remarkable story in the box below.
Coming more up to date, in 1980 Shaukatali established a successful business in Chiswick selling motor spares and he was well-known for giving advice and helping customers to identify what they needed. He very much regrets that difficulty with customer parking and the opening of a rival chain-store outlet forced him to close down in 2006.
After a difficult period of adjustment, Shaukatali began to look for work. When he visited the Jobcentre and explained that he wanted to improve his written English, his Personal Adviser suggested he join our ESP.
“I was ready to tackle whatever would help me find work,” Shaukatali told me. “I was nervous at first, but the tutors and other students made me feel welcome and comfortable.”
Having spent twelve weeks with JGA on ESP, Shaukatali has taken a test to prove his better written English.
“The tutors do a brilliant job,” he says. “They are understanding and always encouraging and make sure that we are learning every day.”
“Shaukatali’s enthusiasm was good for the whole group,” said Sherri, his tutor. “We wish him success in whatever he tackles next.”
When I arrived in England from Uganda in October 1974 it was a Friday night at ten o’clock. My parents were already here under their British Protectorate passports and my wife and one-year old child were with them. But, because I had been trying to keep the family tea plantation going in Uganda, I had been forced to give up my British passport for a Ugandan one. When the Immigration Officer saw this passport, he said I would be deported back to Uganda unless I could get a job by the time of the next flight on Monday night.
On my way to see my parents, I saw a poster for a fitter’s job at Nestlé’s factory in Hayes. I thought that I would be able to do the job because I had taken machines from a decommissioned Nestlé’s factory in York and re-built some of them in Uganda, but I had no documents or any way to prove it. I went there, but was told the factory would not open until five o’clock on Monday morning.
I went back at five on Monday morning, but the offices did not open until nine. When they arrived, I tried to persuade them to let me show what I could do. I said if they took a typewriter apart and put all the pieces in a sack and shock it up, I could put it together again, but they said no. In the end they asked if I could fix a machine which was jamming every five minutes. I did it and they offered me a job.
Then I had to get my passport stamped in Piccadilly and race back to the airport with my passport and the letter saying I had a job. Two hours before the flight which would have taken me back to Uganda, I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The Employability Skills Programme is taking place in Eastcote, Harlesden, Hayes and Woolwich and enables those who are not working to tackle their basic skills needs and other employability issues.
Click here to find out more about the Employability Skills Programme.