John Matthews came to Portland College having had a full hip replacement at the age of 50 with only one aim “to get a job”! He had found the operation quite traumatic but was pleased that he was no longer in pain, although there was only limited movement in his new joint.
John desperately needed to believe in himself, being new to computers, John had a great deal to overcome and was in awe of others using this new technology – especially his wife and children!!!
John gave his all during his training programme in the Karten CTEC Centre and made tremendous progress in a relatively short time. His confidence soared and soon he was the one showing his wife & children how to do things on the computer!! With his new found confidence and desire to get back to work John left his course early to put all his efforts into getting a job.
John is now 52 years old, fully mobile and is employed as a Care Worker at Stoneyford Care Home in Nottinghamshire, working around 30 hours a week, mainly nights.
John finds that he regularly pulls on the skills he acquired in the Karten CTEC Centre at Portland College, especially his communication skills as he deals with residents, relatives and professionals, both in person and over the telephone.
A job he thoroughly enjoys yet a world away from his previous job at Ashfield Dye Works where he worked for 10 years undertaking heavy manual work and, more recently, at Madison Packaging loading machines for printing.
A huge gamble but one that has paid off enabling John to put his new found skills into good use.