Former volunteer Cathie, undertook her first National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Retail Skills and Employment when she joined the BHF. She has since gone on to complete a series of different courses from Customer Service to Team Leadership.
Cathie is an advocate of the NVQs: “It’s straight-forward and easy to do, and getting the qualification and certificate when you finish makes you feel so good!”
Whilst Cathie was studying for one of her courses, she unfortunately lost her husband just two days before an exam. Determined to see it through, Cathie refused to give up and insisted on taking the exam as planned.
In her seven years at the BHF, Cathie has progressed from volunteer to Assistant Manager, where she has been able to put all her knowledge into practice.
Through a local support network Cathie was signposted to the newly opened BHF shop in Exeter in 2012. She hasn’t looked back since, climbing the ladder and turning her life around.
“It helped me get my confidence back after everything I’d been through, which then gave me the courage to go for an NVQ. My courses taught me to look at things differently and gave me the chance to improve my skill sets.”