When Ratchanee Swinnerton first enquired about learning through John Henry Institute (JHI) she was concerned that her English reading and writing skills would not be good enough for the Certificate III Individual Support course.

Ratchanee came from Thailand where she met her husband on holiday, moving to Australia 20 years ago. Ratchanee’s focus during that time has been raising and providing for her children, working in meat factories and in cleaning roles in schools. Now 55, the working mum has four children (two boys and two girls), who are finishing high school and attending university.

“I came from a poor family in Thailand and was not able to complete primary school,” says Ratchanee.

“I was worried about having to read and write in English, but I wanted to work in a caring role to be helpful to older people,” she adds.

Course Coordinator, Karen Crombie, encouraged Ratchanee to develop her language skills and to enrol in the course.

“Ratchanee completed an English test which showed allowed us to understand where she was up to with her English language skills,” says Karen.

“Over the first few months I met with Ratchanee almost weekly, helping her to build on her vocabulary and encouraging her to find opportunities to practice her English.”

Ratchanee rallied her family and her children to help her by talking to her in English as much as possible so she could practice.

As social isolation and restrictions were put in place due to COVID, classes moved from the classroom to being technology-based.

“This was another skill Ratchanee had to master – she did not own a mobile phone and the family’s computer was old and slow,” says Karen.

“The first couple of weeks we worked with her to upgrade her computer and her children bought her a mobile phone and taught her how to use it.”

Throughout the course Ratchanee continued to work, five days per week cleaning with a local company. She worked 6am to 1pm and then attended classes and work placement in the afternoon.

Ratchanee also participated in fortnightly tutorials and coaching clinics. This, along with the support of her children, enabled her to complete Level 2 and 3 English workbooks.

“Ratchanee showed herself to be a diligent student, submitting all assessments on time and as her confidence grew her passion for aged care became more obvious,” says Karen.

Ratchanee says of her work placement at Emmaus Residential Aged Care service, ‘I loved every minute of it!’

Ratchanee was the first in the class to complete all course requirements to successfully achieve her qualification.  She graduated in May 2021 with a Certificate III Individual Support- Ageing.

Ratchanee is a perfect example of how someone with passion, determination and perseverance can overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams.

Ratchanee Swinnerton with her graduation certificate.

Ratchanee Swinnerton (L) with Karen Crombie, Course Coordinator at John Henry Institute on her graduation day in May.