A young farmer who up until recently struggled to count above 10 or tell the time is singing the praises of adult education courses.
Wayne Austin, 28, who works for the Milne family at North Bethelnie Farm, Oldmeldrum, has been getting tutored for the past two and a half years and is currently studying for communication and numeracy qualifications.
“I never got much of a school education. I had learning difficulties and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” said Mr Austin.
“Before when I had the paper I was looking at pictures and couldn’t understand the writing. Now I can sit at home and start to read a column.”
He said his life has been transformed after responding to an advert he saw in a shop in Balmedie advertising adult learning courses through Aberdeenshire Council’s Community Learning and Development Partnership. His mother was also instrumental in getting him to sign up for a course as she had done one in the past herself.
“It does not matter how old you are you can still do it now,” said Mr Austin.
“The way it’s going farming in the next ten years will be computer-based and it will need more reading and writing.”
He said his confidence had grown since taking classes with volunteer tutor Peter Twine and he now has a better understanding of data for cattle at work, including kill sheets, ration formulas and lists outlining what cattle need to be drawn for slaughter.
Mr Twine, who tutors the young farmer for an hour and a half every week, said: “When I started he [Wayne] couldn’t tell the time and he couldn’t count above 10 and he didn’t know his alphabet. He was totally illiterate but he is not stupid and he is very very bright.”
Aberdeenshire Council’s Vikki Carpenter encouraged people who knew others with problems reading and writing to ask them to get in touch with the council to take advantage of the courses on offer.
She said: “There is definitely a known [illiteracy] problem in the farming community but we don’t deal with many farmers because of the stigma associated with it.
“It’s also difficult for them to come forward because of the nature of their work. But the tutoring service at the community learning and development office is one to one and it’s completely flexible and free.”
Mr Austin echoed Ms Carpenter’s plea for more farmers to come forward for help.
He said: “I have had at least 20 young farmers come up to me and ask how to go about it. People shouldn’t be scared to ask for help. I was, don’t get me wrong. If it wasn’t for my mum and other folk saying there’s nothing to be scared of I wouldn’t have done it but people should really just go for it.”
