Course reputation helps Michelle onto career ladder

Adult education student Michelle Gardiner has got her foot on the health career ladder thanks to the outstanding reputation of Totton College.

Michelle, aged 33, studied on Totton's Access course which is a major launch pad for people without formal entry qualifications to go on to university or enter careers in teaching, law, social work, podiatry, midwifery, quantity surveying and others.

In pursuit of her ambition to become a radiographer, Michelle was introduced to voluntary work in the Royal South Hants Hospital. Even though there weren't any suitable positions available at the time, Michelle took on some administrative work so that she could experience working in the Radiography department.

With Totton College's Access qualification on her CV, this soon led to an offer of a Radiographic Assistant position at the hospital along with a place on the Foundation Degree in Radiography at Portsmouth University.

Michelle explains: "The Access course has open lots of doors for me. All the institutions I applied to - as soon as I mentioned the Access course at Totton College - they told me it was exactly the background they were looking for."

Trish Dye, Head of Access - Life Sciences at Totton College adds, "Totton College has a long-standing reputation for excellence in its Access to Higher Education programme. Employers know and trust our standards and we receive lots of requests from employers who want our students to work with them."