Tanya Tunnacliffe

After spending over 10 years working as a cleaner, Tanya Tunnacliffe came to learndirect to change her life.

Tanya left school aged fifteen without any formal qualifications and the disrupted nature of her education meant that she had little confidence in her abilities. Working as a cleaner on the army base, Tanya first found out about learndirect through the 12 AEC Learning Centre at Larkhill and decided to take a literacy and numeracy course. Since starting learning just over a year ago, Tanya has made phenomenal progress, completing basic skills and IT courses and an NVQ in customer service. Tanya has transformed her life completely on the back of her new qualifications. She has changed careers and is now working as a civil servant at the learning centre, a job that, without learndirect, she could only have dreamed of. 

Tanya said:

“When I came to the centre I was absolutely terrified, my experiences at school meant that I didn’t think I was capable of even enrolling on a course, much less passing an exam! Having the support of the staff at the centre really helped me to overcome my initial doubts - in the beginning my tutor Debbie, believed in my abilities far more than I did, and I just can’t put in to worlds how much her belief in me has meant.

The best thing about learndirect is the flexibility of being able to study at home. My husband is in Afghanistan at the moment and I have my daughter to look after, so knowing that I don’t have to rush through the courses and can study at my own pace really takes the pressure off. I try to complete one module a week, but I can do more one week and less the next, depending on my other commitments and my family life.”

Learning Centre Manager Debbie Pentecost said:

“Since coming to the centre, the change in Tanya has been amazing. She has so much more belief in herself and is an integral part of the centre, often answering queries from prospective learners with difficult learning experiences. Tanya is the first face many new learners see when they come to the centre and she is a great advocate of learndirect - she even helps us to market the centre to the partners of soldiers, many of who are like Tanya and need that extra push to help them unlock their potential. “