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Heart of Worcestershire College (HoW College) student, Abigail Tonge, means business as she completes an outstanding 315 work placement hours, including supporting local Redditch charity, Where Next.

Where Next supports adults with learning disabilities and specialises in providing them with real work experience opportunities. Although Abigail has completed her number of hours needed for her Level 3 Business course, she continues to support the charity and has been offered a part-time summer role at the organisation.

Reflecting on some of the benefits of this work experience, Abigail said:

“My work experience at Where Next has allowed me to have the experience of working in an office environment and having that face-to-face interaction with the clients at the different sites.

It also allowed me to see how the business side of a charity works as beforehand I’ve only had the experience from the volunteering side of a non-profit business.”

This isn’t the first time Abigail has gone above and beyond with her studies; last year Abigail was nominated by tutors for an internal HoW Hero award for her continuous efforts, selflessness and willingness to get involved.

Talking about what she enjoyed most about her work experience, Abigail said:

“I really enjoyed working with the staff and interacting with the clients on a regular basis like you would in the workplace.

Working with the staff enabled me to learn about the activities they do to support their clients as well as supporting the charity.”

Where Next have partnered with HoW College for a number of years, providing work experience for students.

Commenting about this partnership, Where Next Operations Manager, Russell Wall, stated:

“Every student that we have had from the College have wanted to be with us and had a passion for learning about the role and actually gaining a real working experience. The students very quickly become part of the team and their contribution to the organisation quickly becomes invaluable.”

After completing her college course Abigail plans to do an apprenticeship that will allow her to earn whilst working towards another qualification.

If you would like to learn more about the business courses with HoW College, click here