Learning to balance study with full time work

Meghan balanced study with full-time work with the right support

Meaghan was already working when she started her Certificate IV in Disability. Meghan says the course was amazing. “The course helped me to see what we were doing right and where we can improve. It helps me provide the best possible service for our clients.”

She works for a company that employs people with disabilities and gives them the skills and opportunities so that they are more educated in the workplace. They are learning skills to progress into open employment.

Meaghan works in HR training and support, wearing a lot of different hats, which she loves. She looks after about a hundred employees, helping set goals, training, and overcoming any issues they may have. She helps them with their NDIS plans as well as giving them a hand to find things to do outside of work. She also facilitates communication between employees and their carers and support people.  

Meaghan’s job provides her with different situations every day and her qualification from BRACE has helped her tremendously. “Every unit that I did in my Certificate IV in Disability I could bring back into work.” She was able to make sure the work policies were up to date and that people with disabilities had input into those policies.

“The course highlighted where we needed to place our attention and showed what we were already doing right, which was amazing. I feel that I am able to do my job a lot better now that I have the information that I’ve learned from BRACE.”

Finding balance with work and study

Meaghan admits that going back to study was difficult. At first, she found it challenging to adjust.

Meghan says there is tremendous support with BRACE. “I could email and say that I was having trouble with a particular segment, and I was always offered time to have one-on-one support.  I could always get back on the right page to keep going.” It was important to Meaghan to know that there was always help around.

Meaghan cannot praise her teacher enough. “I was never someone who was good at school and taking on the course and working full time with two kids at home was stressful. But my teacher took the stress away from it and really put it into everyday situations that we could understand. It was great.”

Meghan passed all her units, which she did not think was possible without support. “My teacher was dedicated to what she’s teaching and that comes across and it keeps us wanting to learn.”

Meaghan had studied before. As she wanted to be in a job where she could help people and give back to the community, she began studying in the medical industry. Soon after enrolling, she found that it was just too difficult to continue with that course.

“There was no real communication there. There wasn’t the support there for me.” Then, a life-changing conversation happened when a family member recommended the disability sector as a place to achieve her goals.

Starting studies with great support

Meaghan found that from her first interaction with BRACE, to enrolling and during the course, there was always someone there to answer her questions. “Everyone was lovely. Getting answers for my silly questions was really easy.”

Her experience at BRACE was so positive that she has been recommending BRACE to people she knows. A friend was looking at another provider for her disability training, but Meaghan recommended BRACE to her because she’s working full time and BRACE fitted the training so well around work. Meghan says the twilight classes offered after work was convenient for her.

To Meaghan one of the things that stood out for her at BRACE was that the experience was so interactive. She compared her experience to a friend, “Teachers sent out information and questions then get told to submit their answers – nothing else. There is no interaction between students and teachers.”

Meaghan says, “At BRACE, you could bounce ideas off other people. This then broadened your understanding of the topic because you got to hear other people’s viewpoints.” From the other students, she learned different ways of doing her job, too.

It was important to Meaghan to have open communication channels while studying, “I never felt like I was on my own. We made friendships. Sometimes we would have additional Zoom sessions with other people from the class. So that was really good too.” Meaghan keeps in contact with some of the other students. 

She’s made some great relationships through BRACE and wants to continue the disability track. Maybe there’s some more study in her future. “If I do study, I will go through BRACE. The whole experience has been amazing. I’m better off for it.”

“I am really sad that it ended. But all good things have to come to an end.”

If you are interested in joining the Disability sector, contact us today to learn more about a Certificate IV in Disability.