Leona praises ‘life-changing’ college experience
Aspiring social worker Leona Jones has described her training at Telford College as a ‘life-changing experience’.
She took part in the college’s ‘Step into Health & Social Care’ short course which tackles a range of topics including teamwork, customer service, and introductions to health care, dementia and professional development.
“I have autism and a lot of social anxiety, and really struggled in school and college, so I was unsure about whether this was right for me,” said 18-year-old Leona.
“The college came out and explained the whole course to me – how it would look, and what was going to happen – and I ended up attending every single day.
“I got loads of support and advice for where I want to be in the future, met some amazing people and made great new friends along the way. Doing this course has really set me up for where I want to be.”
Leona said the course included ‘amazing things’ like sessions in the college’s virtual and augmented reality suite, plus CV writing workshops, and a customer service qualification which she says will be incredibly valuable going forward.
She is now working at Telford & Wrekin Council on a level three youth support worker apprenticeship, and has her sights set on becoming a fully-trained social worker by doing a social worker apprenticeship next year.
“I know what it is like to be in care,” she said. “I lived in a foster placement in Woodside when I was younger and have been previously doing some online tutoring.
“The course at Telford College was a life-changing experience. It has helped me get to where I am now — and inspired me to keep moving toward where I want to be in the future.
“I want to say a huge thank-you to everyone who made this possible. I hope more opportunities like this come around in the future to support care leavers — I honestly didn’t think I could do it, but I did. And they deserve the chance to do it too.”
Sarah Capewell, employer relationship manager at Telford College who worked closely with Leona, described her as ‘a true inspiration’. “We are so proud of Leona, who is doing amazing things. It has been a true pleasure working with her.”
