A Supported Employment Journey until Retirement

Laura Shuttleworth • December 12, 2022

We are so proud to have supported a client throughout her employment journey and up until her retirement! 

On the 9th of December one of our clients, Paula Hardy, had her retirement party! Her Employment Coach, Caroline Hood, and our General Strategic Manager, David Randall, attended her retirement party with her and the staff from Holyport College to celebrate her eight years at the college!


We have supported Paula throughout her employment journey as we began working with her in 2011. Paula has a learning disability and struggles to read and write so came to Ways into Work to receive support in finding employment. One of our Employment Coaches helped Paula to find a good job match and then supported her in applying for the role as a Laundry Assistant at Holyport College which she got in 2014! Holyport College have been a fantastic, supportive, and inclusive employer throughout Paula’s career. Employers like this can make such an important difference to someone who has a disability, or other employment barrier, and we are so pleased to work with them.



At Ways into Work, we provide a personal approach for each of our clients and work with their employers to help support them in the best way possible. One of the issues Paula faced was with reading so name labels were created and put on the lockers so that Paula could match the name on the item of clothing before putting it away. Her Employment Coach also supported Paula through Furlough and liaised between her and the college when she needed to reduce her hours more recently when her joints started becoming an issue. The college was more than happy to carve out her role to accommodate for this, rather than lose her, showing what a valued employee Paula has been! Over the years Paula has even helped to train new staff and always contributes toward good team morale.



The college has said:

 

“Paula started to work for the College when it opened in September 2014. However, there is much more to the story than that - when she was younger, she attended Holyport Manor School, the school which used to be on our site. In that sense, she's been here longer than any of us. She's also making history again today, as she is the first member of Holyport College staff to officially retire. Everyone is going to miss Paula, especially the boarders for whom she did so much. We all wish her a long and happy retirement.”



At her retirement party, Paula was presented with a reading pen from the college as well as flowers and was thanked for her hard work during her time at the college. She is pictured with her manager, Tony Nivas, and her Ways into Work Employment Coach, Caroline Hood at the party.


At Ways into Work, we are very proud of everything Paula has achieved and want to wish her a lovely retirement! 


More Posts

Stronger Together for Our Community

By Saanvi Goyal • May 21, 2025
The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Welcoming Tan Dhesi MP to WIW

By Saanvi Goyal • May 21, 2025
It was great to get a chance to talk to Tan Dhesi MP – Member of Parliament for Slough, on his recent visit to The Curve. He was very interested in the work we do and the positive impact it has supporting people with barriers to employment, into paid work. Our Charity successfully works with those most affected not only helping to ‘Get Britain Working’ but also meeting our mission of ‘Changing Lives One Job at a Time’. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with him to further benefit residents of Slough.

M&S supporting a young Intern again!

By Saanvi Goyal • January 18, 2025
Watch Ashonte shine at the Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food store situated in Royal Berks Hospital! 🌟 Our supported intern is confidently taking on new tasks every day, from restocking to serving customers on the tills. Ashonte's hard work and positive attitude are inspiring! ✨ A huge thank you to M&S, Royal Berks, who have supported many young people year after year. This year they are providing Ashonte with this amazing opportunity and once again helping us to break down the barriers for young people with a disability in gaining employment. A huge thank you to Marks and Spencer's for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need. Want to see Ashonte in action? Click here to watch the inspiring video!
View all Blogs