A new career
Francine Etse arrived in the UK from Togo six years ago and originally
worked in a shop as a sales assistant. Having left work to have children,
Francine was unemployed for around three years before she decided to try to
move into a different career with help from learndirect.
“I came to the UK with only my qualifications from Togo, which weren’t recognised abroad. I didn’t want to go back into sales, and wanted a career move into an office environment. Studying for maths and English certificates with learndirect was a great way to refresh my skills and prepare me for a different job.”
New qualifications
Francine studied for her qualifications with learndirect
and soon passed her exams in both literacy and numeracy.
“After I completed my courses, I was almost immediately taken on as a volunteer by Peabody, a housing charity. I took up the opportunity to go through a variety of in-house training with them and two months later I was employed on a full-time paid basis. I’m very happy that I made the move to an administrative position – I really enjoy my work now.”
Going back to study after the kids went to school
“I had kids quite early but when they got to school age learndirect was the
perfect start for me,” said Francine. “I thought it was time to get back to
work and here I am! I’ve made even better progress than I expected and I
don’t want to stop learning. learndirect provides a unique
experience – it’s absolutely worthwhile.”