A student has broken a Stockport College record by studying three distance learning courses in under six months.
Fast-moving Joseph Connor (pictured) was able to whizz through the College’s suite of free distance learning programmes at pace thanks to speedy responses of Stockport’s inhouse team of expert assessors. After acing a course about Challenging Behaviour, Joseph completed another Level 2 qualification in Specific Learning Difficulties last week and is now enrolled on Safeguarding.
Joseph, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, said:
I was just so impressed with how quickly the marking came back and how detailed it was. It was such unrivalled feedback. My certificate also arrived within a few weeks. All these courses will help my CV and improve my future job prospects.
“Distance learning really suits me because it’s peaceful and quiet at home, which helps me focus. I don’t have to study in classrooms, instead I can choose to learn flexibly where I feel most comfortable and in my own time.”
With his newfound confidence, Joseph is eying a wider number of job roles, with a work history in finance, administration and the postal service. 40-year-old Joseph enrolled as a mature student at Stockport College, having already retaken GCSEs later in life as a former pupil of Inscape House for children with autism.
Stockport College offers a total of 33 different free distance learning courses, which span a range of subjects covering career learning to healthcare and community programmes, to suit a wide range of staff, including those of large employers such as Manchester Metropolitan University.
Two of the employees who enrolled from Manchester Metropolitan University have already used their certifications in team leading and lean management to progress into new roles within the institution, even creating a support group online to discuss their studies.
Double-distance learning certificate holder and Customer Service Team Leader at Manchester Metropolitan University, Tracey Parker, said:
The College’s distance learning courses provided many members of my customer support team with a real focus and put some structure back into their day during lockdown, which was tremendous for their professional development as well as for their wellbeing. Also, the speed in which assessments came back to us all really helped everyone move seamlessly towards their next steps and progress onto their next module.”
Quality & Compliance Officer, Marcelle Blinston, who studied Lean Organisation Management Techniques, said:
For some staff at MMU, English may not be their first language and these courses can help improve their communication skills while boosting their subject knowledge. The fact these courses are free and available at accessible levels for a wide range of staff were is a bonus. They are flexible and the College was very understanding with our staff who were studying while working full time. We are so impressed with the results, we have more members of staff from other departments who have expressed an interest in enrolling on these courses in the future.”
Distance Learning Manager Jemma Lees said:
We’re delighted Joseph and employees at organisations like MMU chose to study so many of our free courses through the College and hope that they continue to study many more. The number of achievements we have had since the courses launched, and Joseph’s in particular, have been fantastic.
“Distance Learning courses are all conducted online so they are incredibly accessible for people who want to study at a place that suits them, at a time that is convenient and at their own pace. While our assessors are always ready and willing to give feedback, we understand that not all our learners might be as quick as Joseph. He has done remarkably well and deserves a huge well done.”