Dream comes true for star pupil
Posted on March 13th, 2008
Five years after arriving in the UK and working as an au pair, 24-year-old Pavlina Kratochvilova from the Czech republic has started training for her dream job – with the help of learndirect!
Pavlina, who is taking an Advanced Diploma in Adult Nursing at Sheffield Hallam University, said: ‘This is a dream come true for me.’
Although she enjoyed working with children, Pavlina felt she needed a change and found employment in a hospital - first as a ward assistant and then as a support worker.
‘The new role gave me more responsibility and it was while I was working closely with patients and nurses that I realised nursing was what I really wanted to do,’ she said. ‘I applied for the course at the university but, although I had ‘A’ levels from the Czech Republic, I was told I needed to gain a maths qualification in this country if I was to be able to join the course.’
When Pavlina arrived at Sheffield learndirect centre, which is provided by Business Advice Direct, she was a woman in a hurry. She needed to get the qualification under her belt within a short time in order to take up her conditional place at university. The staff at BAD Sheffield helped to speed her through the course which she passed and she finally started her university course in January.
‘I was still working full time and doing different shifts and would go to BAD Sheffield on my days off,’ she said. ‘All the staff there were brilliant – really helpful and supportive.’
Overcoming the disadvantages of English being her second language and the fact that her Czech qualifications were not recognised here, Pavlina would not give up on her dream to become a nurse and she is thrilled to have finally started the course.
‘I have been waiting for this for so long and now that I have finally started the course it is a little bit hard to believe it!’ she said. ‘The course is quite hard especially as I had been out of education for five years, but it is good to learn new things and feel you are progressing and preparing for a different role. As a support worker I felt I had learned all I could and that I couldn’t go any further.’
BAD Head of Funded Learning Fiona Wright sad; ‘We are delighted that we have helped Pavlina on her way to her dream job. This is what learndirect is all about! She has worked so hard and been determined to become a nurse regardless of having to cope with a different language and extra qualification requirements. We all wish her great success in her chosen career.’
