Local learners invited to find out how 2+2 can equal an honours degree and new career horizons
The University of Warwick’s Centre for Lifelong Learning specialises in helping adult learners achieve personal and professional goals regardless of their previous educational experience, and is urging anyone who has been inspired to return to learning during lockdown to take a look at the courses on offer for the autumn.
Demand for learning new skills from sourdough baking to ukulele strumming is reported to have boomed during the coronavirus lockdown - but what if you could use your new-found appetite for learning to gain a recognised qualification that could benefit your career and your community, on a course designed to fit in round your life?
Every CLL course is designed with the needs of adult learners in mind, from part-time foundation degrees to courses delivered in partnership with local colleges and employers:-
- Ready to dip a toe in the water?The Gateway to HE programme is a free part-time course designed to ease adult learners into study.
- Interested in social studies and politics? The 2+2 BA (Hons) Social Studies Degree starts at a local college and ends with two years of study on the University’s campus, including a personal in-depth research project.
- Working with children and keen to do more?The Early Childhood Foundation Degree can help nursery workers and childminders take the first steps towards qualifying as an Early Years Teacher or a Primary teacher. It’s designed so that learners can combine study with work and with family life.
- Inspired to support people’s mental health? The part-time BA (Hons) Person-centred Counselling and the Psychotherapeutic Relationship Degree course combines study with work-based learning and counselling placements from the NHS to community agencies
- Need to earn while you learn? The BA (Hons) Social Work Degree Apprenticeship is a work-based pathway to a social work degree and eligibility to apply for entry to the professional Social Work Register, allowing people working in a social care role in adults or children’s services, mental health, disability or youth offending to become a qualified and registered social worker while still in full-time employment.
CLL student blogger Jules Sparkles enrolled on the 2+2 course four years ago after losing out on a job because she didn’t have a degree.
She said: “During lockdown, perhaps you have had more time to think than usual. Does your work align with your values? Does it drain you or enthuse you? What have you since discovered that you want to continue when this is all over?
“We all stand at a crossroads and must decide what direction to take next, when the time is right.
“I was at a similar crossroads when I joined Warwick four years ago. I was disgruntled at work and looking for a way out. A random internet search presented me with the Warwick University BA (Hons) Social Studies 2+2 pathway. I love learning new things and this course has scratched the academic itch I have had for so long. In fact, I love studying so much that I will continue to a taught postgraduate degree at the University of East London.”
Anne Hollinshead, Director, Centre for Lifelong Learning, said: “In a normal year we would be out and about at local events like Earlsdon Festival, Coventry Pride, and Nuneaton Carnival to talk about our courses and about how we are focused on the best ways to welcome learners back to formal education.
“While we can’t yet meet in person we are here on the end of the phone and would really urge anyone who has discovered a love for learning during lockdown to get in touch – we’re still welcoming applications for courses starting this autumn.”
2 July 2020