Learning IT skills helped improve confidence
Warwick Owen, aged 28, from Gillingham, was one of the first students to start studying at Winfield when it opened in 2006.
Since then he has gained several nationally recognised qualifications in IT. He has now left Winfield and with renewed confidence and IT prowess he works as a buddy to NHS students where he uses his IT skills.
Winfield gave me the opportunity I needed when I needed it the most.
I had started studying for a qualification in science some years ago at a nearby college, but had to give this up in 2001 when I became ill. Eventually, I managed to get myself a job in a factory, but it wasn’t what I really wanted to do and by 2005 I was so unwell that I had to leave my job and go in to hospital.
I started doing some other courses but none of them were vocational and I really wanted to find something that would lead to work and make me independent.
In 2006, I found out about Winfield through a leaflet I picked up. At that time I was lacking in confidence and I wasn’t really doing a lot. As I got better I wanted to do something, I wanted to achieve something. Going to Winfield gave me the opportunity to enroll on a college course that was suitable for me. And as someone who was not, say 100% well, but well enough to want to do something. And it really gave me the opportunity to actually get some qualifications to get back into the workplace.
I phoned Sandra Hall who manages the centre, and she seemed quite accommodating so I went in. When I saw her she seemed a very nice person and we just sat down and had a chat about things. I said I’d like to come in and do a few classes and Sandra said we’ll arrange some dates and take it from there. It was all very good, very motivating for me.
What I really like about the centre is that the tutors are used to training people with mental health needs so I felt they really understood me. To begin with I needed a lot of time off because of my illness, but they let me go at my own pace, not pushing me, but keeping an eye on me at the same time. I always telephoned if I couldn’t go in to arrange another time. Knowing that someone was expecting to see me was a real motivator.
Going somewhere where other people are studying too also really helped. It’s a professional environment at Winfield. You feel like everyone is there to learn and that’s a good feeling.
Now I am working for the Buddy scheme. It’s a project with the NHS where service users such as myself mentor students. And my IT skills have come in very handy there.
Before I went to Winfield I didn’t have the confidence to do what I do now. I mean that’s what Winfield has given me. It gave me something I went in for and a routine of doing something twice a week. It built my confidence up and meant that I could gain IT skills to the point where I can be at work now and be perfectly happy. I know attending classes at Winfield helped me on my journey to recovery.
As well as gaining vocational qualifications at Winfield I made some very good friends. There is one friend I still keep in touch with, even though we have both finished our courses at Winfield. I often bump into people I know from Winfield in the high street and we either have a chat or go for coffee, which is something I would not have done before when I was unwell.
