Home > Resources > Lifelong learning home page > Learning & Skills Case studies > Case Studies - 2009 > Prudential ALW May 09

All hands pulled together at the Prudential in Reading during May. In partnership with the company training & development unit, Unionlearn and local tutors – Unite ULR Mike Faherty organised a lunchtime session as part of Learning at Work Week. This is Mike’s story.

We organised courses on photography and film-making at the Prudential in Reading over lunchtime.

As a result, nine people took the photography course and five of us took the film course.

A grant of £300 from Unionlearn enabled us to hire tutors to run the courses. Maria Wilcockson, in Prudential's Learning & Development area, helped with publicity and providing training rooms for the event.

As well as the courses, we have been able to provide links to on-line resources for people who were interested but unable to attend on the day. John Barr – Unite Regional Learning Organiser - introduced each course with a brief overview of the union movement's history of encouraging ongoing and adult learning for workers everywhere.

In addition, Steve O’Donnell Union Learning Rep from the prudential obtained two DVDs for each participant on the film course to illustrate how film can be used to support political causes.

Participants all gave feedback for the courses, most of which is very positive indeed. Below are some of the things people said.

 

Photography:

"I found the course very interesting - though it was not possible to go into depth on all topics, given the wide range of people attending it gave me a good base knowledge & more importantly an understanding of where to go for more information. The information that Peter sent through after the course has been very useful."  - Kate

"I enjoyed the course and hope there will be a follow on with a bit of practical maybe. In fact since then I have bought a new telephoto lens and am getting to grips with it. Peter's knowledge is quite extensive and he put it across very well considering he did not have very long to prepare. I would have liked more time and a bit of practical especially on my own camera. All in all it was very enjoyable and informative." Chris

"As a casual photographer, I had always thought I would try and look at suitable courses to build on my limited knowledge on this hobby, but never had the chance or the time, so this opportunity came at the right moment. The course was detailed enough and covered the majority of the areas I had wanted to learn. My being able to see the pictures, and the faults to avoid, very beneficial.

Pete (the tutor)is very knowledgeable and was able to demonstrate effectively throughout the session, I was impressed with his collection of lenses and other photographic gadgets and then being able to have a feel and look for the items just put this into perspective, especially as I am looking to buy a good set of lenses and an SLR camera.

Pete also talked through each of the pictures and showed what he had done to get the best shot. In one particular case, he showed in successive images how light can affect the visual effect; and how best to capture the images just by varying the angle and speed settings.

Pete also provided a list of URLs and other resources for further information. This course was of the right length and I now feel encouraged continuing experimenting and perfecting this renewed interest especially as I now have all this additional information.

Thanks for arranging this."  - Sanjeev

Film:

"Well organised and geared to the group’s needs. The course content was really good. We packed a lot into the 2 hours. The tutors knowledge and ability to impart knowledge was also really good. I was able to work with everyone and he got us all involved, checking our understanding by replaying what he had taught us. The length of the course was about right for a session of this kind which aimed to steer us onto further resources." Malcolm

"Very interesting and good for complete beginners like myself. The tutor asked us to repeat what he'd shown us with drawings and putting it into our own words showed if we had understood a very good technique. More info on how to use the camcorder would have been great!" Wendy

“I’d say the course was very good on all counts. I'd be interested in having a chance to play with professional-grade cameras and learning about filmmaking..."  - Alex

The whole session went really well and gave people a chance to try out skills that they would not otherwise have been able to. It has inspired and helped people to now take their interest further.

We hope to do more of these in future.

Mike Faherty Unite Union Learning Rep – Prudential Reading