Page last updated at 14:31 GMT, Friday, 04 January 2013 UK
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Forty-four year old Dennis Hathaway from Blackpool could teach us all a thing or two about perseverance and adaptability. Dennis started out in the army more than 20 years ago, but his plans for a long-term army career were cut short when he was injured. He soon embarked on a new career in the fabrication business, refurbishing old London buses, making horse boxes, building armoured vehicles and servicing caravans.
Dennis enjoyed his work, but it was physically demanding and his old army injury eventually started to cause problems. He says, “Over the last 20 years I’ve lost 30% use of my arm and grip. I have had several operations on it but it's one of those things which will continue to deteriorate.”
Dennis knew that his time in the fabrication business was coming to an end and once again he would have to pick up the pieces and re-train. He was unemployed and looking for office-based work when he came across vision2learn.
“I found vision2learn on an internet search,” he says. “The Business and Administration course appealed to me as I was looking for a job in this area.”
Dennis signed up for vision2learn’s free Business and Administration Level 2 online course. He quickly got up to speed with e-learning and gained lots of practical, work-related skills. The course covered a wide range of administration skills, from managing information and supporting documents, to dealing with change in a business environment and supporting business events.
Dennis explains, “I enjoyed all aspects of online learning and found that as I wasn’t tied to a classroom, I could drop into it any time of the day or night, or even at the weekend. I just knuckled down and got on with it.”
Dennis was a dab hand at learning independently, but if he came across any problems during his course, he could contact his vision2learn online tutor at any time for advice and support.
Whilst completing his vision2learn course, Dennis attended his local job centre, where he was placed on work experience for an accountancy and payroll company. His new-found business admin skills were quickly put to good use. Dennis tells us, “On the third day of my placement, the HR manager suggested that I apply for four jobs that were coming up.”
Dennis was quickly hired for a full-time role as an administrative assistant. He says, “I had hoped to just get a new qualification through the vision2learn course, but I think it certainly helped me to secure the position I’m in now too. Without this course, I don’t think I would have got the job.”
Dennis now has a new qualification on his CV – a Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Business and Administration - and a brand new career. He just goes to show that it’s possible to restart your career a second and even a third time... When he’s not at the office, he likes to go for long walks in the Lake District and go fishing - we think he thoroughly deserves it!
If you’re thinking about taking your career in a new direction like Dennis, vision2learn has a range of FREE work-related online courses that can help. Places on our FREE IT (Level 1 and 2), Equality and Diversity (Level 2), Customer Service (Level 2) and Business and Administration (Level 2) courses are available NOW – click here to find out more and register today.
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