I did a free online Level 2 digital marketing course which didn’t require any qualifications. It gave me a good understanding of digital marketing and I now feel confident enough to pursue a career in the digital marketing industry

I didn’t achieve any Grade 4 passes at GCSE. I have dyslexia which made it really hard to pass exams and I felt worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a course I could do or a career where I could earn decent money doing something I enjoy. A friend mentioned Courses for Life and after a lot of scrolling I found a full time woodwork course. Because of my dyslexia I was keen to do something practical rather than something that involved a lot of written work. I visited the college and met the tutors who encouraged me to enrol. The course is really good and I am learning skills and doing things I didn’t think I’d be capable of. This course has given me confidence because it is at a level I feel comfortable with. I feel like I’m now on the right path and I can see a good future for me. The course is for 2 years and I might do an apprenticeship afterwards or I might go on to a higher level of woodwork and maybe even furniture design. So don’t panic if you don’t get the GCSE grades you were aiming for because there are still so many courses available to you and CFL makes it easy to find the one that is best for you. I have 4 level 3 passes at GCSE but there are many courses that only require level 1 & 2 passes so there is really something for everyone at every level.

I’ve always had an interest in film and media but wasn’t sure that was an option for me because I don’t have any GCSE grade 4 passes. I thought there were no courses available to someone like me. I found the Courses for Life website by accident. What is so good about it is that it covers the whole of the UK so it has a lot of different types of courses – full time, part time and online. I did some research and made a shortlist of the courses available to me. I liked the look of a Level 2 film and media course which sounded interesting. I enrolled on the course and I loved it from day 1 – everyone on the course was really friendly. I’m actually quite good at the visual side of the course modules which is the film editing, the design and the creative aspects. I’m starting to think I could make a career doing something I love which is something I wasn’t expecting to happen.