A bin lorry driver who spent 20 years hiding his illiteracy from council bosses has learnt to read and write.
Caerphilly County Borough Council worker Thomas Hearne successfully completed a workplace skills scheme carried out by Talk Training.
A former military man, Thomas has worked for Caerphilly County Borough Council for more than 20 years. In that time he became skilled at avoiding paperwork and tasks which required him to read or write extensive documents.
Thomas was joined by four of his colleagues from the refuse team who also worked towards completing the course provided by the National Training Federation Wales.
The employees were presented with their certificates of achievement in a special ceremony by the Deputy Mayor of Caerphilly County Borough Council Cllr David Carter.
Thomas, 52 and from Llanbradach, said: “I felt so at ease when I met my tutor for the first time, not once did I feel small or humiliated as I had done in the past. What I learned in a matter of weeks was truly amazing and I just wish that I had has this opportunity years ago. It is thanks to the support of my manager and tutors that I am able to go forward in both in my professional and personal life.”
Well done Tommy boy 🙂
Well done to him and to all of them. It takes some guts to start. It's never too late to learn.
It must have taken a great amount of courage to join a learning class at your age. Well done. You are an inspiration. Good luck to you.