Sandy Lavender is delighted – and not a little surprised – to find herself in the role of development worker with the WEA for the Torfaen region.
Mother of two Sandy, gained qualifications in counselling following a series of WEA courses and also obtained the Certificate in Delivering Adult Learning. She is an adult learner and it’s her experience and understanding of learning alongside people in the community that gave her the opportunity. Combining her job with working towards the Access to Higher Education Certificate and widening her therapeutic skills to complement counselling, she says,

“I love this work. It gives me great job satisfaction. Learning in the community gives people such a thirst for knowledge."

To qualify as a counsellor Sandy completed 100 hours as a volunteer, including working for MIND the mental health charity.
Now her aim is to combine the development work with two thirds of her time at the WEA and the remainder practicing as a professional counsellor and hypnotherapist.
To download this article in full, click here . . .