David Gains Promotion After Completing Vocational Achievement Course at SERC

David Whiteside, 42 from Belfast, has recently achieved a promotion after completing his Level 3 Certificate of Vocational Achievement course with SERC.

David has worked as an Electrical Maintenance Technician for Translink, Northern Ireland Railways for the past 25 years. As part of a SERC/Translink partnership, the Level 3 Certificate of Vocational Achievement course was made available to him as a training opportunity. He enrolled onto the course shortly after finding out about it, having identified how it could help improve his career progression within the workplace. 

On his course, David comments, “The course was informative, relevant to my job and was very relaxed. I was able to complete the course while at work which I thought was great for managing study and job balance. The tutor was very helpful and was always available via phone and email for any issues students may have had. 

“In class we learnt about the principles and practices of assessment, learning how to assess occupational competence in the workplace, as well as vocational skills, knowledge and understanding. As a result of this course, I now have the underpinning qualifications to assess employees in the workplace that are carrying out safety critical work, to ensure the quality of work meets industry and government standards.

“After completing the course, a lot of opportunities became available in my workplace. I got an interview for a promotion to a Fleet Co-ordinator role which will essentially see me coming ‘off the tools’ and into an office environment, and thankfully I can say that I was successful in gaining the promotion. I am currently awaiting a start date for my exciting new role.” 

David concluded, “I would highly recommend the course to anyone, no matter what age or vocational level. This course gave me confidence within my peer group, to assess employees in the use of safety critical equipment and has opened doors for me in my work to progress my career”.