As a young man Isiah Williams felt that he fit the stereotype of disaffected youth.

Isiah had left school with no qualifications; he was young, black and thought that the educational system had nothing to offer him. Thirty years on, the young people support officer is educated to degree level. It has been a long journey, through a career as a DJ, then selling records and Caribbean food. But joining Coventry Youth Offending Service gave him the boost he needed to get his education back on track and achieve his Professional Certificate in Effective Practice (PCEP).

“I particularly wanted to gain the PCEP because it would give me professional parity with my colleagues and provide a foundation for career development within the Youth Offending Service,” he says. “I had come to a point in my career where I felt ready for the challenge of an academic study programme.”

Isiah, now 49, is a role model for the young offenders he works with, many of whom are starting their adult life with similar difficulties to his. “Achieving the PCEP has given me greater confidence, professionally and personally,” he says. “It has also deepened my understanding of the way the structures and systems of society operate – and how necessary that understanding is. It has confirmed my belief that education is the key to freedom.”

Isiah was nominated by Trevor Humphresy of the Coventry Youth Offending Service for his West Midlands Regional Adult Learners' Week Award

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