Mum tells of how local college opened doors for her

Joanne Caskey, mum to Bobby (10) and Bella (5), was awarded a Foundation Degree with Distinction in Construction with Surveying at the College’s Higher Education graduations, paving the way for her to go to university.

Joanne said that even as a young child she was always interested in the design and construction of buildings, an interest she attributes to her father.

After leaving school, Joanne successfully completed a Level 3 Diploma in Construction at the College in Coleraine, but her long-term career plans were put on hold while she thought of her next move. She worked in Asda whilst focusing on her young family but was drawn back to her original plan to work in the construction sector.

“Ten years after I completed my Diploma, I decided to go back to the College to do a Foundation Degree,” Joanne explained. “It’s a roundabout route but it’s working for me and I’m really enjoying it.”

As part of the Foundation Degree, Joanne secured a placement with multi-disciplinary architectural consultancy firm, GM Design Associates in Coleraine.

“The work I did at College and then the work placement with GM Design were great preparation for university and, because I was already familiar with much of the terminology, so I was well able to cope with the workload,” Joanne said.

www.nrc.ac.uk

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