Yvonne takes the challenge at De Montfort

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Unison leads on the Six Book Challenge

Yvonne Hirst, aged 50, is a cleaning supervisor at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester where she has worked for 20 years. Having felt that education passed her by until recently, Yvonne was encouraged to take part in the Six Book Challenge by her Unison ULR, Andrew Jennison, who got more than 100 employees involved at De Montfort this year.

“I noticed a poster about the challenge and was interested in what it was about, “explains Yvonne”. “Andrew was going around the campus letting people know how and when to sign. It sounded fun putting down what you read in a diary and the thought of maybe winning a prize.

“At first I thought I couldn’t do it because I wasn’t very good at reading,” says Yvonne, knowing she had been diagnosed as dyslexic when signing up for a Skills for Life course the previous year, Andrew introduced Yvonne to Quick Reads and was able to persuade HR Training & Development to purchase several sets of to support the challenge.

Yvonne felt that the page set-up, the size of the text and the colour of the paper used in the Quick Reads titles helped immediately. “They were spot on!” she says. “It was also interesting to read books on different topics. I enjoy reading books about children, but the book I really enjoyed was Raw Voices with a forward by Vanessa Feltz.

It took Yvonne about two months to complete the challenge. She has also just finished another Skills for Life course and feels that the combination has been a good one: “I have been very fortunate that I have had the opportunity to learn and take part in the challenge while working at DMU. I am very proud of what I have achieved over the last two years. I’m more confident about reading now and I’ve always got my head in a book. It’s helping my spelling too.”

Yvonne is also keen to encourage other people to take up the Six Book Challenge in their workplaces. “It doesn’t matter who you are, have a go at it. It has helped me. Find a ULR and ask what it involves. I have enjoyed it and will take part again next year.”