Owen’s story

Owen went from feeling left behind at college, to taking steps to success at university.

College years

Owen’s story starts during his first year of college, where he was studying travel and tourism.

Reflecting on this time he said: “I felt I was limited by having no money, no work, no opportunities and felt like my friends were one or two steps ahead of me.”

After sharing his concerns with his lecturers, Owen was told about Careers Wales.

Careers support

Owen attended a group workshop hosted by Careers Wales at his college. He was then matched with Working Wales careers adviser, Lara Bagagiolo, for individual support.

During weekly one to one sessions, Lara guided Owen to explore potential career paths. They looked at his skills and interests, as well as suitable next steps for him.

With CV and application support, Owen was able to gain employment at B&Q. This enabled him to save money whilst and continue to explore what he wanted to do long-term.

Lara and Owen continued to meet monthly, where Lara provided support to Owen in making the decisions that lead to his university journey.

Set for university

After deciding he wanted to gain an events management qualification, Owen had a tough decision to make on where he wanted to study.

With support from Lara, Owen had the courage and ambition to relocate and enrol at the University of West Scotland.

As a current student at the university, Owen reflects positively on the support he had from Careers Wales: “My sessions with Lara gave me so much insight into what I could do and how I could get there.

“My mind was in a million pieces before, but it was a massive relief to have support with looking at my future.

“I don’t know where I’d be without her and the Working Wales service.

“I still benefit from Careers Wales services now. I use the website to look at job options and the questionnaires to figure out my next steps on from here. It helps bring me back to focus.”

Owen is now looking ahead to getting a job in September within events management as part of his degree.

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