Boosting your skills

Taking on the challenge of a new course can be a great way to boost your skills and confidence.

At times you may feel that your whole world revolves around caring, without much room in it for you.

Finding an interest outside of your caring role is important, especially for your sense of identity and to boost your confidence. Undertaking a short evening course or a degree course could be a great way to do this.

(Note – Making the choice to study may affect your entitlement to benefits so it's a good idea to look into this before making any decisions.)

If you're keen to develop your skills, you could begin by asking yourself the following questions:

• Do you want to develop an existing interest or skill or learn a new one?
• Where do 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 e-learning?
• How much time do you want to spend learning?
• What level of the course do you want to do?
• What can you gain through learning?

We have designed a new e-learning programme called Learning for Living which provides a helpful starting point if you are wondering what skills you've gained from caring.

The introductory course highlights how these can add value in the community or workplace, and what you can do to make the most of your skills. It covers everything from communicating effectively to goal setting and includes a wide range of scenarios to suit people in different situations.