A Fresh Start for Victoria!

 Victoria Trainor has worked in the Pick and Park department at DHL/Exel Rochdale for almost 4 years. 

Having left school with qualifications in Maths and English, Victoria was desperate to learn some computer skills.

“I felt like I was the only person in the world who couldn’t use a computer! Everyone
I spoke to was surfing the net and emailing friends and relatives in other parts of the world and I’d never even switched one on!” Victoria said.

However, after speaking to her union learning representative, things started to change fairly quickly!

It’s all part of the service!

Victoria found herself on a guided tour of the onsite learning centre, aptly named “Fresh Start” along with her union learning representative and Project Worker, Barry Carter.

Funded by the road transport union URTU and the Union Learning Fund, the learning centre was set up as part of a learning agreement between DHL Excel and the union.

“I felt so much more confident after speaking to Barry. Having a look around the learning centre really helped too, as it can be quite daunting not quite knowing what to expect. I started off with a game that helped me use the mouse, it was a great introduction and really gave me the confidence I needed to enrol on a CLAIT course” said Victoria

A real incentive!

What Victoria didn’t realise, was that the learning agreement also included matched time off for learning, whereby the employer pays 1 hour and the employee gives an hour of their own time.   

“Getting paid to learn has been a real incentive for me” said Victoria. “It’s also encouraged lots of other people to do the same”.

Her new skills have certainly paid off. A recent secondment and promotion has led to Victoria working in the busy traffic office, a job she couldn’t have applied for without her new IT qualifications. 

“The learning centre has just been fantastic! Not only have I’ve gained a new qualification and promotion, it’s also meant I can spend more time with my family, rather than spending evenings at the local college”.

A big Thank you!

Victoria was keen to thank both Barry and URTU for all their help and support.
“I can honestly say I would never have taken the first step on my own. I would probably still be thinking about getting IT skills instead of using them”!