My name is Cynthia Skervin, I am a single mother of  two a grandmother of my first grandson .  I was born in England and grew up in Jamaica. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have the experiences of both worlds. 

I attended Barnet College and gained NVQ qualification in Beauty Therapy that equipped me to work as a part time lecturer for four years with the college . Simultaneously I worked in two care homes one with the elderly and the other with learning disability part time.

In January 2005, I joined Thorpes Bus Company.  Within six months I was told that I was now the Union Learning Rep for the garage.  I did not know what a learning rep was supposed to do!  I accepted this post and I am now thoroughly enjoying the role. Not forgetting the post is now an elected one, a ballot was held and I was voted for. I was most impressed to learn that Metroline provides education for its staff; this is most exciting and I am encouraging the learners to use the facility that is provided to continue to improve their knowledge. At Thorpes bus garage we are happy to learn when the Learning Bus arrives on a Friday afternoon. During the first ten weeks the class was buzzing. Now we are up for the second course and it should be a success.

Our tutor Ruth is great with delivering techniques and encouragement.  Amongst many things, we are taught how to switch on the computer, which I personally did not know how to do, but now this is the proof of what I can do. On my course I am getting help with writing and spelling and Word processing.

Engineer Ladipo Jones, alias K.C (Cricklewood garage)

Ladipo has been an engineer at Cricklewood for 34 years. Soon after the ‘Learning on the Move’ project was set up, the union representative from his garage introduced it to him. Ladipo said that he was very curious about the project but was bit reluctant initially to join in.  However, as Ladipo had always wanted to learn more about computers, he decided to take the opportunity. Ladipo has been doing the basic computing and internet courses and he said that he likes the fact that you can do it in your own time and at a pace that suits the individual.

Ladipo  says “I didn’t know much about computers before I joined the course, but I was very keen to learn about it. I wanted to learn how to write letters on computer. The course has been very interesting and useful, I have enjoyed it and now I would like to do a language course, I would like to learn French.”  He also states, “I think it’s excellent that the ‘Learning on the Move’ project encourages people to develop their skills regardless of their age. I am also now able to understand my sons when they talk me about computers!”

Ladipo has been recommending the Learning Bus to his colleagues. He hopes that by sharing his experiences with others they will see the benefits to life long learning.

My name is Jyoti Shah. My husband Navnit has been a Metroline driver out of Harrow Weald Garage for the past 8 years. As a family member, I was offered free training on the learning bus in March of 2006. Over the years I have taught myself how to use Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint which I have used in my main job of 15 years in a market research company.

Although I was used to using a computer, I was surprised by how much more I was learning on the bus with my tutor Kofi. He showed me functions of word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations, all of which were new to me. This gave me a lot more confidence in my computer use. In May 2006 I started to learn Access Database and this opened a door for me. Although I have used this software, I was able to understand the programming of the data, rather than just data input which I have done in my previous job. As a result of this new learning, I have been able to get a new job at Barnet NHS Trust, as Clinic Coordinator. The new job involves continuous use of a database and I now feel more confident about this new role and all the IT use that is involved.

Driver Len Western (Harrow Weald Garage)

Len has been with Metroline since 1968 and is based at Harrow Weald garage. He initially found out about the ‘Learning on the Move’ project through posters around the garage. Since Len started learning on the ‘Learning Bus’ he has gone on to complete all the computer courses. In addition he has achieved level 1 and 2 in Spanish.

Len says: “I have found the learning on the bus fascinating, I’ve had a computer for the last three years and I knew how to use the internet but since I have been on the computer courses I know so much more. I wanted to do the courses to improve myself. The courses have definitely been very useful, I have benefited from them all. For example writing letters are so simple now that I know how to set it up in Word.”

Len also commented: “Initially I wasn’t sure about getting involved in the learning, but since I’ve started I have been hooked! I think the ‘Learning on the Move’ project is a very good idea. I would definitely recommend the courses that I’ve been on to everyone, especially the Spanish courses, they were great.”

Len suggested that there should be more promotions for learning around the garages, to make people more aware of what’s on offer.

Eileen Joyce and Elizabeth Wisniewska (Tara Support Services Ltd)

Eileen Joyce and Elizabeth Wisniewska  are both employees of Tara Support Services Ltd and they work at Cricklewood garage. Tara Support Services Ltd provides the cleaning services fr Metroline's depots. Eileen has been with the company for nearly 6 years and Elizabeth is fairly new to the company, and joined in the summer of 2005.

They both heard about the 'Learning on the Move' project through Tom O'Callaghan, the Union Learning Rep at Cricklewood) and decided to give it a try.

Eileen has completed the basic computer course and is full of enthusiasm about the benefits of it. She says " knew nothing about computers prior to doing the course, I didn't even know how to switch the computers on! In this day and age everyone has computers and even young children know how to use then. This has encouraged me to take the opportunity to enrol on this course." She also adds, "The Learning on the Move" project is a great idea. it's free and the skills you gain from the courses are very useful. I would recommend it as I have really enjoyed the course. It ahs also been a lot of fun doing the course with fellow learners - there's always a good atmosphere on the bus."

Elizabeth is originally from Poland and she complete a six week "Spelling and English" course in June 2005. She said, "I decided to take the basic Spelling and English course as I have wanted to improved my English. My tutor, Kofi taught the course very well and I have really enjoyed it. It was also a great opportunity to meet new people.

Eileen says that since Elizabeth has been on the English course she has become more confident in talking to people and now enjoys sharing jokes with her colleagues. She has since completed a basic computer course on the Learning Bus.

Eileen adds that they are able to fit the learning around their duties as the Tara management encourage their staff to learn and are very supportive of the Learning on the Move project.

Driver Suresh and Kavita Pitrola

Driver Suresh Pitrola has been at Willesden garage since December 2003, Suresh and his wife Kavita have both benefited from using the Learning Bus. Suresh first heard about the courses through Sonia Mullings, Willesden Learning Rep, over a year ago and has been using the facility ever since.

Suresh said:  “When I started to bring course materials home to practice, Kavita asked me what I was doing and wanted to get involved.”

Kavita added: “Having the opportunity to use the Learning Bus has been a great experience for me. Since I’ve started, my confidence has increased, many people have commented that I have become more sociable. It has also been nice to me

Both Suresh and Kavita have now completed Word, Excel, Power Point and Data Access courses. They are currently pursuing the European Computer Driving License course.

Suresh commented: “I have enjoyed all the courses, especially the Power Point and Data Access courses. Although I had some knowledge of the software, the courses have allowed me to expand my knowledge base. The Learning on the Move is a great project, it’s free and it’s on your doorstep.”

Kavita was recently named the Trade Union Education Learner of the Year at this year’s Learner Awards at the College of North East London. Congratulations and well done to Kavita on her achievements.

Trainer Mark Kelley

Mark has been with Metroline for 10 years. He was a driver at Holloway for 8 years and has been a trainer for the last two years. Mark first heard about the ‘Learning on the Move’ through his friend Steve Adams (Holloway Learning Rep), and he also saw poster campaigns around the garage.

Mark has always had an interest in computers, as he builds them in his spare time. He buys the parts and puts them together to create a computer to fit to his exact specifications. However, he wanted to learn more about the software and thought that it will be great to do the computer course at the learning centre.

Mark said: “Three years ago I wanted to gain the ECDL (European computer Driving license) qualification but when I found out how much it costs I didn’t end up doing it. So when Steve told me that the ‘Learning on the Move’ offered learners the opportunity to enrol on the ECDL course I jumped at the chance.”

Mark has now successfully finished the ECDL qualification and to everyone’s amazement he has managed to complete the course in just 5 weeks. On average, learners can take up to 1 year to complete the course as there are 7 modules.

Mark said: “It took a lot of determination to complete the ECDL course in such a short space of time but it helped that I had a lot of support from Steve and my family. When I started the course my wife was pregnant and she had 5 weeks left till the baby was due, therefore I set myself a target to finish the course within 5 weeks before the baby arrived.”

He added: “I have definitely enjoyed doing the ECDL course, it has been brilliant. Although I haven’t been on the language courses I think it’s great that they are being offered. I have benefited from the courses as it has taught me all the short cuts which save me a lot of time. The ‘Learning on the Move’ is a good project as it encourages continuous learning regardless of peoples’ age. I have been recommending the courses to all my trainees as I think people need more encouragement to get involved. Therefore, I think having more advertising about the courses will definitely help to recruit more learners.”