I’m proof it’s never too late to change direction
WHEN Ray Simmonds moved to the UK from Jamaica, where he had worked as a primary school teacher, he discovered his qualifications did not translate to a similar role in Britain.
So he decided to retrain as a social worker and enrolled on an Access to Higher Education Diploma: Social Work at Walsall College, West Midlands, in 2011.
Ray, from Walsall, says: ‘One of the things that motivated me was that I knew the need was there for social workers, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds.’
He adds: ‘The course at Walsall College was tailored to the needs of learners, especially mature students like me. Starting again at Walsall College helped me to develop my analytical skills, prepare for university and gave me the confidence to go on and achieve my goals.’
In 2012, Ray went to the University of Birmingham to study for a degree in social policy and graduated with an upper second in 2015. In the first year of his studies, he was awarded the Stanley Howard Hardy Memorial Prize.
At the end of his third year, he gained a scholarship to complete his Masters in Migration, Super-diversity and Policy.
Ray is now project co-ordinator for the Pre-School Learning Alliance, a specialist early years and education charity that also provides unemployed people with access to education, volunteering opportunities and routes back into work.
He said: ‘After the opportunities I’ve had from getting back into education, I want to help others improve their situations.
‘I enjoy helping people start the process of securing their futures, which comes back to why I did the Access to Higher Education qualification.
‘I enjoy telling people I work with that it is never too late to go to college, and often use myself as an example to inspire them.’
Walsall College, which is graded outstanding by Ofsted, boasts a huge selection of courses and qualifications from entry level to university level. It has an Open Day on March 30, 4pm to 7pm.
FOR more information log on to walsallcollege.ac.uk