TEENAGER Kelly Wrightson didn't feel that university was right for her, even though many of her friends left home to study for a degree.

Instead, the 19-year-old from Brighton Hill took the route of learning on the job by taking an NVQ in customer service with key training.

And this week it well and truly paid off, as Kelly was named Employee Learner of the Year after being nominated by Janet Delve, of Key Training.

Kelly works for G-Tec Formation Solutions in Basingstoke, where her job is multi-tasked and she reports directly to the company directors.

Having completed her Foundation Modern Apprentice in customer service, she has now signed up for an advanced qualification.

She said: "Once I have completed the NVQ, the world is my oyster and I would like to travel to other continents and learn more about countries' cultures and ways of living.

"I will have even more academic and work-related qualifications, so I am confident that I can travel and return at a later stage and find a job."

A confident Kelly added: "So far, these qualifications have helped increase my chances of getting the career I want - all thanks to learning while I work."

Janet said: "She is well-motivated and enthusiastic and an inspiration to her colleagues at G-Tec."

JOHN Rampton has ambitious goals to build a high-flying career in engineering - and, in the process, will be contributing to help close the skills shortage in his industry.

John, who lives in Whitchurch, was runner-up to the Employee Learner of the Year after being nominated by Elgin Emmerson of NTL (Broadcast).

He studied for a BTEC HNC in engineering at night school at BCOT in 1996, and achieved more qualifications to get him to his present level, studying for an MEng with the Open University and an MSc at Surrey University - all on a part-time basis.

But his further education will not end with degrees. He wants to be a member of The Institute of Electrical Engineering by the end of next year, and be registered as a Chartered Engineer by the Engineering Council by 2005. Then he has ambitions to follow a career in communications engineering in consultancy, design or teaching.

A strong believer in lifelong learning, John said: "I have learnt good communication and time management skills, and developed a sense of purpose in my life."

MANUELA Dervish was born in Madeira where her formal schooling ended when she was just 11 years old. She was nominated by her employers at Basingstoke hospital for having the determination to succeed with adult learning more than 40 years after leaving school.

Manuela, who lives in Winklebury, Basingstoke, is now 55 and has completed an introduction to IT and English course.

But that wasn't enough for her, as she is now studying for a GCSE in English language and literature and has just started a numeracy course.

Studying through the BCOT context programme, she said: "I returned to learning as I wanted to know what my standard of English was like, and realised that I had the potential to achieve more."

But one day she will leave her adopted Basingstoke. "I would like to return to Madeira to teach adults English as a private tutor," she said.