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Success stories
Now self-employed and happily working from the comfort of her own home! Here is Jane's story…
Jane’s doctor told her that she was "a heart attack waiting to happen".
At the age of 41, and after 24 years working in a high salaried but high-pressured job in IT, Jane was warned that she should get out of the industry or else face the consequences! She was finding it difficult to switch off and only getting about two hours sleep a night. She had lost her self-confidence and was having regular panic attacks. So, Jane decided to take her doctor’s advice and took voluntary redundancy from her IT job.
That was three years ago. After seeking advice from the Jobcentre and from a counsellor, Jane accepted that she needed to change her career. A friend suggested accountancy, and her DEA gave her details about the Bookkeeping and Accounts course at the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Training College. After attending an Open Day at the College, she applied and was accepted onto the course.
Jane started at QEFTC in January 2004. She got on very well with the instructors, John and Frances, and she like the way they structured the course. She was allowed to work at her own pace (which was fast!) and sometimes she helped other less capable trainees. She also shared experiences she had from her own commercial background.
Jane also loved gardening, and as a kind of therapy she was allowed to spend three lunchtimes a week working in the greenhouses of our Horticulture section. This helped with her de-stressing programme. Jane said, “It was fantastic of the College to let me do that. They were brilliant! John and Frances were just what I needed. I can’t sing their praises enough!"
Jane quickly completed the course and got all her qualifications. She was offered a work placement with a local accountancy practice, Tax Assist, which gave her valuable work experience and even more self-confidence.
Jane now has three jobs! She is working from home, on a self-employed basis, both doing the accounts for her partner’s business, for which she set up all the accounting systems, and sub-contracting to Tax Assist. She is also doing freelance temporary work for a hotel, helping with their management accounts.
She said, “I wouldn’t have done any of this without the College. I did all my exams in 5 months, yet there was no pressure. I really felt I belonged and that there was no competition. The whole College atmosphere was friendly and supportive, and I had so much contact with people with such a wide variety of both mental and physical disabilities and from different cultural backgrounds. I smiled all the time and I was always laughing; yet the work was serious. It was probably the happiest period I’ve ever had in my life! Now I just want to earn enough to pay the bills, have the occasional holiday and to have some time to myself. I’ve got the freedom to control my own life by being self-employed. The College has given me all that."
