When Ida Aldred first set foot into Job Club at Chepstow Community Learning in March 2024, she was at a low point in her life. Feeling isolated and powerless, her mental and physical health had deteriorated, having recently moved to the town after losing her job, home and car. For four decades, Ida had been afraid to go outside her comfort zone,
fearing the world as a terrifying place, she struggled to find her purpose in life.

Fast forward 18 months and Ida is now a confident and resilient volunteer armed with a wealth of new skills and qualifications that have transformed her life and is positively impacting the lives of others. “I owe it all to Job Club,” said Ida. “I’ll admit to being a bit overwhelmed at first, because it was completely different to any other employability course. Eventually, it clicked with me that Job Club was genuinely what it claimed to be, a supportive environment where fellow attendees could collaborate and contribute on collective and
individual goals.”

Ida achieved a Learning Development qualification, which helped to identify her knowledge, skills and personal qualities and strengths. For the first time, she could set out her
life goals, leading to the Overcoming Barriers to Work qualification with Agored Cymru. Ida is also learning Welsh and is a crucial volunteer at Job Club, alongside this she champions community learning and supports the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course as an assistant.

“Ida continually pushes herself out of her comfort zone to learn new things, develop and grow,” said her tutor, Catrin Edwards. “She always supports others in Job Club and has encouraged them to push themselves to expand their horizons.”

Adult learning has changed Ida’s life and she’s passionate about helping non-English speakers to integrate, saying she finds it “very energising to share culture and language, finding new things to appreciate through different perspectives.” As a next step in her career, she wants to take the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification.
I’ve never seen myself with a future, so to be presented with the foundation for one, to know that I can adapt, develop and achieve things that I used to only have daydreams about, it’s like being handed a second life, with all the many possibilities that offers.”