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G@tehouse Case Studies

Last Updated - 14 May 2012

Union learning Case Study - Steve Cottle

Congratulations to Steve Cottle, a postman and Union member for 24 years, who recently gained both his literacy and numeracy qualifications through the G@tehouse Learning Centre.

Steve explained that he initially got involved with Union Learning because a friend at work had just completed a NVQ level 2 in IT and had told Steve all about it and how good he’d found it. Steve was curious to find out more so he came along and signed up for a course and he hasn’t looked back since!

Steve said the best bit about Union Learning was the feeling of security it gave him – with the constant threat of redundancy hanging over most workers heads, he felt gaining qualifications would help him in the job market should he find himself made redundant by Royal Mail. He said, ‘once you start, you have to keep going – it’s something more you can add to your CV’. Receiving his certificates, said Steve, gave him an immense feeling of achievement and something to be proud of.

Well done Steve!

Union learning case study - Paul Turner

Recently retired member, Paul Turner (65) worked for Royal Mail for 36 years as a professional driver and was an active Union member during this time including holding the positions of Branch Chair and Area Distribution Rep. He came to work for Royal Mail following 10 years serving in the Royal Artillery.

Paul was having difficulties typing up a document on his computer for the Tredworth Tigers under 10’s football  club  that  he  runs  and  thought to himself ‘It’s time I did something about this!’ 

Paul  had also recently attended a reunion of his Royal Artillery mate and had found out that his friends had been trying to contact him online, but hadn’t been able to find him.  Paul decided it was time to find out more about using his computer and getting online. Around this time he received a letter from his ULR (Union Learning Rep) inviting all retired members to a “Spring Online” open day during Adult Learners week at the G@tehouse Learning Centre at the Royal Mail sorting Office on Eastern Avenue in Gloucester, so he decided to give it a try and he hasn’t looked back since.

Paul has now successfully completed the online basics course through ‘MyGuide’ and is gaining confidence in using a computer. ‘I can email my friends and contact them through Facebook and share old photos which I’ve scanned into the computer and uploaded to the internet’. Paul says learning through his Union has been very enjoyable and he would recommended it to others ‘I’m looking forward to doing more courses, especially over the winter when I have more free time – maybe a history or geography course. I’m also thinking of doing an IT qualification with Learndirect through the G@tehouse Learning Centre!’

Union learning case study - Janette Taylor

Janette Taylor is a busy mother of two teenage boys, an active member of her local Spiritualist Church and part time post-woman at Gloucester Mail Centre. She has also just successfully completed a level 2 maths qualification (equivalent to a GCSE or ‘O’ Level) at the G@tehouse Learning Centre at Gloucester Mail Centre.

 I asked Janette what inspired her to take up learning with her Union. “It was the threat of Gloucester Mail Centre closing a couple of years back”.  Janette felt the threat of redundancy meant she needed to ‘up skill’ if she was to continue to help provide for her family. She had not enjoyed maths at school and hadn’t done well in it. She decided a maths qualification would look good on her CV and would help her get another job. As it turned out, a successful campaign by Gloucestershire Amal CWU saved the Mail Centre and the 400+ jobs there, but by now Janette had caught the learning bug!  

Initially Janette did a level 1 maths qualification, which then gave her the confidence to go on to complete the level 2. These took her about a year in total, putting in a couple of hours studying a week. She said having a Learning Centre on site where she worked was very convenient as she could pop in before her duty starts, or during her breaks to do some work. Janette told me how the course used everyday situations to teach, such as how to scale up ingredient quantities when cooking a recipe for larger numbers of people, or how to work out how much money you save from a discount offered in a shop. She said receiving help and guidance from John Williams the tutor had been a great help.

I asked Janette what had been her lowest point during the course? “Domestic and health problems interfering!” - But thankfully John was very flexible and supportive and Janette passed the course.

I asked what was the best bit about Union Learning?

  “Passing and getting a certificate!” There is an immense feeling of satisfaction when you pass your course and it gives you a real confidence boost. From not being very good at maths at school, to gaining a certificate feels very good! 

I asked Janette what was next for her. “I’m thinking of doing the NVQ level 2 in IT”. Janette is also busy writing poetry, having had poems published in The Citizen, the Forest Review and even Jaguar Enthusiast!

 We congratulate Janette on achieving her Level 2 Maths certificate, and wish her luck with her Poetry and the IT NVQ!