Having adapted to a new country, learned a new language and discovered a career path that suits him, SERC carpentry trainee Andrii Hladkyi is looking forward to progressing at college and developing a career in carpentry. Andrii left his native Ukraine with his mother when the war started.
On arriving in Northern Ireland and settling in Lisburn, Andrii enrolled at a local school. He says,
“I started at Fort Hill College when I was 15. I had to adapt to a different education system, and learning in English was difficult at first, because I couldn’t speak as well as I can now.”
Alongside school, he studied ESOL at SERC to improve his English, and continuing to improve is important to Andrii. Although he felt his English level was progressing well before joining SERC, he found the opportunity to practise speaking in a classroom setting was valuable, and it created a foundation to progress to an Essential Skills qualification in English, and then on to further study.
After leaving school, he enrolled on SERC’s Level 2 Traineeship in Maintenance Operations, which gave him the opportunity to explore different trades before choosing a specialist area. He says,
“It was a good course, because it gave you a taste of different specialities. I knew I wanted to do something with my hands and make things, but I wasn’t sure what material I wanted to work with. After the course, I understood it was wood. It’s much easier for me to understand how to make something with wood. I like learning new skills, finding out how machines work and learning new things about the materials.”
That experience led him to progress onto the Level 2 Traineeship in Carpentry at SERC, and he has recently completed his first year.
For Andrii, the practical side of the course is what makes it enjoyable, including opportunities to test his skills in competitions such as Skillbuild:
“It’s for apprentices and trainees to test their skills against others in their trade. It’s useful to check your skills, and see where you can improve. I made a mistake and lost some points, but it was still a good experience.”
He says he found that SERC delivers a very positive learning environment, in contrast with his previous experience:
“In Ukraine, I studied in the same school the whole time, but I didn’t really like it. I had bad marks and I didn’t like the way things were taught. Because of that, I didn’t really want to study. I find at SERC, things are explained clearly, so it’s easy and interesting to study. Also, the workshops and equipment are really good. The staff are helpful and you can always ask someone”
Andrii, who is now 19, is fully focused on gaining qualifications to pursue the career he wants; he is looking forward to the second year of his traineeship, and his next target is to find an employer and embark on a Level 3 apprenticeship with SERC.
