“If I made any mistakes it was actually okay because it was a safe environment.”
Joy felt nervous enrolling in further studies as she hadn’t done any formal learning for a number of years. “I lacked confidence in my ability to take up studies, but the class was so inclusive that I felt I could actually be myself. If I made any mistakes it was okay because it was a safe learning environment.”
She found her facilitators and classmates were really supportive. “We all had different barriers, and we helped each other. One’s weakness was another one’s strength. I felt quite safe and like ‘yeah, I can do this!’.”
When another course opportunity came up, this time in Adult and Tertiary Teaching (ATT4), Joy enrolled again.
“I started looking through the content and saw elements of it that are definitely relative to business and you can apply in different forms. It’s been great, I enjoyed it!”
The courses have changed her thinking at work. “It definitely has challenged me on different levels of thinking and that’s what I actually enjoyed, I found it has expanded my thinking. And I’ve enjoyed the challenge of it.”
As part of the ATT4 course, she prepared training to meet a need in Primary Care. Joy describes this as one of her big achievements. Her training is still being used today, even though she has moved on, new staff are making use of the training content and developing their skills.
“What is really good is that those that are now running with it all actually have something useful.”
Joy sees how this has helped her to change her thinking, increase her capability and progress with her career. “It’s definitely been very relevant to what I’m doing.”
Joy was seconded to the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre for the COVID19 Response. She appreciates “the understanding and kindness” shown to her when she needed more time to finish her last assignment: “If you do meet challenges, you know that you can approach LearningWorks for programme support and for an extension.”