Don't be afraid of going back into training or education if you feel you're too old. Laureen Shaw took the plunge...

Laureen Shaw is a respected European Accounting supervisor with Ford Motor Company - a position that,10 years ago, would have been beyond any expectations she had for her working life. Her career progression is especially remarkable in that it stemmed from non-vocational learning she achieved through the Ford Employee Development & Assistance Programme (EDAP), learning that was to have a profound effect on her life

Starting out
Leaving school at 16, Laureen worked in a number of administrative assistant positions before joining Ford in 1978, where she was an Accounts Clerk for some 17 years. It was as she approached 40, in 1992, that Laureen was re-introduced to learning as she tried to address some fears, originating from when she was just eight years old. She had almost drowned at that age and even though she subsequently learned to swim, she had steadfastly avoided any swimming activities throughout her teenage and adult life.

Enhance your potential
Following a trip to her local swimming pool, where a scuba-diving club trained, she approached her EDAP Learning Advisor with a request to learn how to scuba-dive. Within two years and after displaying great personal courage, Laureen had drawn on the patience of her diving instructor to gain a Sports Diver qualification - a significant achievement in itself, but for Laureen the final conquest of a life-long fear.

Laureen recalls how the achievement transformed her belief in her own potential: "I had been working at Ford in the same job for 17 years and had applied for various promotions without success. You get to a stage when you begin to believe that you cannot achieve any more and this is a belief I had, but after the scuba training and gaining the qualification, my self-belief returned and I knew I could do better," she said.

Progress
"I started to apply for promotion and although I did not always get an interview, I knew I could be promoted if I sold myself. My confidence certainly grew. I carried on with the scuba training, learned new skills such as how to give first aid, rescuing people from the water and underwater photography, and I also gained higher diving qualifications. These allowed me to train other newcomers and to take them on dives in the sea. I felt a great sense of achievement when they progressed. EDAP had in turn helped me progress with my own learning."

In 1995 Laureen was promoted to Accounting Team Leader. Her diving continued and, as she gained more experience, so her self-confidence grew. Having achieved so much with her diving, she wanted to learn something new and, with support from EDAP, began to learn about rubber and feet! By the end of 1996 she had qualified as a chiropodist and has since started her own private practice.

Success
In 2001, Laureen became European Accounts Supervisor, which required her to set up a new department and travel to Germany on a regular basis. She explained: "Many of the human skills I had learned over the years in diving were being put to the test. I was re-organising work processes between my UK and Germany based teams. It took a lot of negotiation, persuasion and encouragement. I was asking people to do things differently, give up some of the work they used to do and take on new responsibilities. The project took a year and it was not always easy, but I found myself dealing with the set-backs, acting as a teacher-leader and always believing in my own abilities. My life in and away from work became so much better as I became accustomed to the realisation that my potential could be as great, or as limited, as I chose."

Positive effects
In 2002 Laureen returned to diver training, again with EDAP support, to become an advanced diver and open water instructor. She summarises the effect her learning has had on her career: "All the skills I have learned with the help of EDAP, have developed me both personally and in my career with Ford Motor Company. Any learning, be it vocational, academic or just something you find interesting, will positively affect your life and sometimes the effect it has will totally surprise you."