Dane Phillips
Dane Phillips rarely attended school, feeling that he didn’t fit in because of his home life. He joined the Army at 16, where he stayed for five and a half years. He got married and left the Army two years later, but he began drinking and taking drugs, which eventually led to a divorce.
Following years of various jobs to pay off his debts, Dane applied for a literacy/ numeracy course to get the Job Centre off his back. Dane was receiving support from Hereford MIND to sort out his housing, debt, drinking and drug habit, when he was referred to CSV Training. As part of their Employability Skills Programme, his literacy and numeracy skills were assessed as being Entry Level. However, he has since completed a Level 2 qualification, as well as OCR Certificates in Adult Numeracy Level 1 and 2, an OCR Certificate in Adult Literacy Level 1, and an ASDAN Award in Employability.
Dane said, “Once I got the bug I wanted to do more.” This included an Emergency Response training course, which came in handy after a passer-by collapsed outside a café with a head injury. His swift response and handling of the situation made him a local hero.
Dane has been working for the Plynlimon Trust for the last six months and is also taking an NVQ Level 2 in Customer Services. He said, “My confidence and self - esteem have grown. I feel I now want to get up in the mornings; I have a purpose to get out of bed. It is nice to have a job I enjoy.”