Why learning?

It can be hard thinking about what is right for you when you might not have thought about yourself or your needs for a long time.Bill cares for his wife who has MS. Now that their children are more independent, Bill felt that he was ready to take up an activity outside his caring role – he just wasn’t sure what that might be.

"I contacted my local carers centre, met up with other carers, and gradually developed the confidence to explore new opportunities.I enrolled on an IT course, and am using my new skills to produce the newsletter for my kids’ Parent Teacher Association."

Think about:

• whether you want to develop an existing interest or skill or learn a new one
• where you want to do your course – do you want to go to an adult education centre or college? Do you want to do distance learning or even e-learning?
• how much time you want to spend learning
• the level of the course you want to do.

What can you gain through learning?

Learning can be just about time for you, or about moving on to something else, like volunteering or paid work.

"I did the City & Guilds Learning for Living course at the Lewisham Carers Centre – the absolute carrot for me was that I would be getting a certificate at the end. But I found the course very interesting and useful in my everyday life – my communication skills have improved and I have started to ask myself questions as a result of the course, questions like, “What do I want to do with my life?” And, “What can I come up with if I just dare to imagine?” I have found that it is OK to have a dream – not just that, but dreams may come true. Who knows what I may be capable of?"

Find out more about Learning and Living and other places you can do a course. more...