Joanne Byrne
Social Worker Degree Apprentice, Manchester City Council
Overcoming Obstacles: Joanne Byrne’s Degree Apprenticeship Journey
Meet Joanne, a Social Worker Degree Apprentice currently working at Manchester City Council. Having struggled at school, Joanne assumed that an academic pathway was never meant for her and felt held back in her career by a lack of qualifications. When Manchester City Council offered her the opportunity to do a degree apprenticeship in her current field of work, she jumped at the chance.
Below she shares her apprenticeship journey with us, explaining how she gained back self-confidence in her field and overcame obstacles with the help and support of Manchester Met and her employer.
Returning to study
I didn’t do very well at school, and I left with minimal qualifications. I always felt learning wasn’t for me due to this.
I started working for my current team as an unqualified care manager fifteen years ago. I have worked alongside some amazing social workers in my time, and always thought “what if…”, but my lack of qualifications always held me back. So, when my employer offered the Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship, I was immediately interested and wanted to apply, as I was already doing the job but without the qualification.
The degree apprenticeship was the ideal way for me to qualify, as I had the practical experience but didn’t have the required qualifications to go through the standard degree route. My manager, team and family were all fully supportive of me, and have continued to support me throughout my degree.
For me, this has been the best learning experience of my life. Yes, it’s been hard work, but it’s been worth every bit of stress.
Learning at university is such a different way of learning from school, and it does help to be studying something you really enjoy and have an interest in, as well as the additional support that Manchester Met offers through their in-house functional skills tutors and Educational Psychologist assessment service.
Gaining functional skills
Due to leaving school with minimal qualifications, one of the additional requirements I had to meet on the degree apprenticeship course was to pass my maths functional skills. When I began my degree during the teaching restrictions of the pandemic, I initially struggled to pass the functional skills exam with an external provider.
However, after Manchester Met moved their functional skills provision in-house and employed two functional skills tutors who provide amazing one-to-one maths tuition, I was successful in passing my qualification.
My tutor was patient, able to understand me, build my confidence up, keep pushing me, and most of all, she believed in me. She was always encouraging me that I could achieve this - don’t get me wrong, she worked me hard but that hard work paid off. Without her support, I wouldn’t be a few weeks away from completing my degree.
Alison Hewell, Joanne’s functional skills tutor said: “When Joanne started studying with us she had had some bad experiences with education, especially maths. She was determined to work at improving her skills. She was able to adopt new ways of working that met her learning style and she began to excel. Joanne was a pleasure to work with and it was wonderful to see her progress the way she did.”
Getting back self-confidence
“The degree apprenticeship has given me back the self-confidence that I had lost at school. I was diagnosed with dyslexia during my degree, and as a result of this I understand myself, and how I learn, so much better now.”
When I pass my degree, this will fill a void in me that has been missing all my life - it’s such a huge personal achievement to me.
You can do it too. With the right support, you can achieve!