Always the dream to finish my studies
Arnar Þorsteinsson has worked in the painting trade for the last 25 years. He attended secondary school and always intended to finish his studies and become a painter, but like for so many others, it didn't work out.
“I dropped out of school, then came children and other things, and there was just never any time. Just working non-stop, always under the standard wage. I was always missing that, what can you say, that safety net in life. I got so busy that I forgot about my studies and never felt there was enough time to finish them. But it was always the dream, to finish my trade. And now it's finally happening, 25 years behind schedule. You could say I've been on a break for 25 years. Twenty-five years!” says Arnar.
My person at Iðan
I discussed this with the guys at work, and they suggested I contact Iðan Education Centre, which I did. I called Iðan and got in touch with a study and career counsellor. She just guided me through it. All I had to do was say I was interested. And then it just went from there, as we had discussed. She often said at the beginning that she was my person there. She was there for me. So I didn't have to worry about anything. This wasn't some test I had to take. It took me two or three weeks to get it into my head that she was right.
How does the assessment of prior learning work?
It's quite a process, you know, but you're completely guided through it at Iðan. They're basically trying to find out what I know and can do. You go for an assessment interview, right, how did that go?
It went very well. It was a bit stressful and I would have liked to do it again, but I got a lot accredited. I probably shortened my schooling by two and a half semesters. I had finished all the theoretical parts back in the day, but the practical part was missing, and I'm doing that now through distance learning at the Technical College. It's going well, and I'm aiming to graduate around Christmas.
What does this change for you?
It will be a whole new world, completely. It changed this faint hope that was always in the back of my mind. Now, all of a sudden, it's becoming a reality. And it would never have happened if it weren't for the assessment of prior learning at Iðan.
Next, I'm aiming for a master craftsman's degree.
Click here if you are interested in learning more about the assessment of prior learning.
