|
 Studying
GNVQ, going on to an HND
Age:
20
Living:
Ystalyfera.
College:
At Neath Port Talbot College having studied
Advanced GNVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care.
Now studying HND in Health and Social Care with
the possibility of doing an extra year to turn
it into a degree.
Also,
working part-time as a support worker for disabled
people and people with learning difficulties.
Why
college:
I decided to do my GNVQ in college because I
didn鈥檛 like my old school, and I needed a change
of scenery. GNVQ was the best course for me
because it was quite general in nature and that
suited me, rather than studying three specific
subjects at A Level.
Why
go on to HND:
I decided to go on from a GNVQ to an HND because
even though you can get good jobs with a GNVQ,
if I decided to change direction in a few years
time, I鈥檇 need more qualifications. I knew I
wouldn鈥檛 have the patience to go back to college
to get them, so I thought I鈥檇 do everything
now, and educate myself in full. HND is two
thirds of a degree. People who get an HND tend
to go on to reasonably good jobs, and are also
guaranteed a place for the final year of the
3 year BA Degree in Cardiff University if they
want it.
The course:
The course has assignments, presentations, a
journal as a personal profile of your own development,
case studies, essays and research. Doing GNVQ,
I was writing lots of assignments all the time,
but with HND there are fewer of them, but the
subjects are harder.
Good
points:
I don鈥檛 think the HND is as hard as the GNVQ,
it鈥檚 just that the standard of work expected
is higher, and you have to describe things more
clearly. It鈥檚 2 days a week, but it鈥檚 a lot
of work as it鈥檚 a full-time course. It means
I can hold down a job too, which makes it financially
possible. It鈥檇 be much more difficult for me
if it were 5 days a week, because I live 30
miles away, and I鈥檇 use a lot more petrol. Also,
I wouldn鈥檛 be able to work, and so I鈥檇 lose
the experience of working with people, which
is so important to this course. This two day
system is much more convenient for people with
families.
Bad
points:
The only thing I don鈥檛 like about the course
are the presentations. We have to talk, in a
group of four, about a topic such as Equal Opportunities.
We find a policy, go through it, and then everyone
speaks for 7陆 minutes each. The trouble is,
we have to do this down a video line to Cardiff,
so that the examiners can see us! It鈥檚 very
nerve-racking!
College
versus university:
I don鈥檛 think it would make a difference if
I were doing this course in university, because
the work is the same. However, college is more
convenient for people with children, as the
holidays are more or less the same.
|
