Helena (31) is now working towards achieving her Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care. Once she completes that, she plans to continue studying to help with her career progression.
“I was working as a care assistant in a supported living facility and realised that if I was to secure a permanent position, I would need an accredited qualification. I checked around to see what was available and decided to a Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care at Northern Regional College. ”
The course is delivered on a part-time base and Helena manages her shifts at work so she could attend class on Fridays. When she completed the Level 2 course in 2019, this whetted her appetite for further study and she enrolled first on the Level 3 course and from here, progressed from here to Level 4 and Level 5.
Helena, who has now secured a permanent and more senior position with a Cedar Foundation facility for people with brain injury and complex care needs, is planning to get married in 2023. She admits that studying at Northern Regional College helped boost her employment prospects and she would have no hesitation recommending part-time study to others working in the health and social care sector.
“I’d certainly recommend it. You need qualifications to progress at work but not only that, part-time study helps you develop new skills and grow in confidence.”
Congratulating Helen on her graduation, Jacqui McAllister, Health and Social Care lecturer and course director of the part-time Health and Social Care courses at Northern Regional College’s Newtownabbey campus said Helena was an exceptional student.
“Helena always works hard and does her best and it has been my pleasure to teach her and see how she has progressed from Level 2 right up to our Level 5 leadership and Management in Health and Social Care this year where she is excelling.”