Jan is studying a part-time BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) course in Mechanical Engineering at Central Sussex College (on the Crawley campus). He has been doing this course for three years. He is, at the same time, in full time employment as an engineering supervisor.

He won the 2008 BTEC HND/HNC Learner of the Year Award, which is sponsored by Edexcel as part of the FE Sussex Spring Awards. He’s clearly delighted about it. “One of my lecturers put me forward for it” smiles Jan. “I’d never heard of it before but I was quite honoured!”

Jan is very focused on what he wants and has been working hard towards his education. He has attained top grades for all the subjects that he is studying at college and consistently produced high quality work while working full time and raising a young family (two girls).

When Jan applied to study this course he did not have the ideal entry requirements, such as A levels; however he was accepted onto the course based on his age and work experience and because he held industry qualifications.

“I also had to attend many additional support lessons in order to get up to speed, particularly in math” says Jan. This meant he had to spend more time at college than average, despite working shifts of up to 60 hours per week, frequently covering nights as well as days. Now he is a supervisor supporting a team of eight people.

“I’m going to use the qualifications I am gaining from this course to get into management that way”. Combining work with studies is something Jan knows how to handle well. He believes that time management is very important and you have to plan ahead.

Not only were Jan’s wife and friends were thrilled to hear that he had won this award but also his tutors at Central Sussex College. “It’s good for the Engineering Department. It obviously reflects their teaching qualities,” says Jan.

Jan’s dream is to become a Project Manager in engineering and he is hopeful that winning this award will open new doors and make him stand out from the crowd.

Congratulations Jan!