The Student's View
Name		Martin Dixon
Age		39
Current Position		IT Trainer/Technician
Course		Advanced GNVQ in Information Technology
College		Reading College and School of Arts & Design
Why GNVQ?
‘If A level had been the only available course, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to study. I’d recommend GNVQ to anyone intending to get back into education.’ Martin returned to education as a mature student, keen to get back into employment after some years of caring for his disabled son. His early education was disrupted by dyslexia and he now wanted to ‘get a decent qualification and a career with a future’. He had always been interested in computers and wanted to know how they worked – the GNVQ seemed an ideal qualification as it enabled him to get really absorbed in both the theoretical and practical aspects of computing.
The course
‘GNVQ is very like employment because you have to work to deadlines’ Having been out of education for so long, Martin found being back at college quite tough at the beginning. He was determined to succeed, though, and soon found himself helping some of the younger students to develop the personal and time management skills needed for successful completion of assignments. He found that the continuous assessment process and the ‘building block’ approach to learning was much closer to the demands of a real job than courses which rely on a single pass/fail examination. It was particularly useful to get regular feedback on performance so that knowledge gaps or areas of weakness could be remedied before the next assignment. Group projects such as the development of a complex database tested both technical and interpersonal skills as the ability to organise a work schedule and motivate the team was vital to successful completion. The students also gave demonstrations and presentations to a variety of different audiences.
Getting the job
Martin had originally planned to study for a further two years on a full time HND course but the combination of a technical and training role seemed ideally suited to his skills. Very early in his course, his tutor had suggested that he was a natural teacher and the breadth of technical knowledge he’d acquired enabled him to deal with the wide-ranging problems associated with the maintenance of a busy network. He has managed to combine the best of both worlds by continuing to study part-time for an HNC in Computing.
The work
Martin supports students studying for the popular European Computer Driving Licence. This involves working to the structured training timetable and working with people of all ages and backgrounds who are learning new skills. By contrast, he has quite a degree of flexibility in organising his technician duties to coincide with times of lower usage and prioritising tasks so that the busy network runs efficiently. Student usage is heavy and can take its toll on machines. Martin’s work embraces everything from routine maintenance of pc’s and peripherals through checking network connections to re-ghosting machines to recover lost files.
The Future
‘Five or ten years ago, I’d never have imagined that I’d be doing the job I have now’ GNVQ enabled Martin to find his real employment niche and gave him the skills to fulfil his dual role competently and confidently. His interest in working with people is such that ultimately he would like transfer into a full time training post.