This year’s Adult Learners’ Week Awards Ceremony for the North East took place in spring sunshine in the glorious setting of the Alnwick Garden in Northumberland. Pat Whaley from NIACE announced winners from across the region, who were present to receive their well-deserved awards, bringing inspirational stories of barriers overcome and lives changed. The ESF North East Regional Award Winner is Tony Kindley, a profoundly deaf young man from Ashington in Northumberland. His nominator, Anne Kidd from Wansbeck Centre for Voluntary Service, told Tony’s story.
After leaving school, employment applications had met with little success. After completing his 13-week New Deal programme with WCVS he was transferred to the ESF Horizons programme at WCVS, which enabled him to further develop his retail experience with the support of his signer. His placements, with Tesco and Netto, revealed his ability in this area, and allowed his outgoing personality and determination to triumph. He now has a job with the newly opened Asda store, through their disability recruitment scheme. Tony is rightly proud of his achievements, which include learning to drive without using a signer.
‘Some hearing people have a problem with deaf people,’ Tony said. ‘But they soon get used to me. I feel like I’m a kind of ambassador!’
