Laiba Waheed
Study Type: Adult and Community
Study Location: Workplace
Subject Studied: Childcare
External EMCCA funding helps Laiba pursue her vocation in residential childcare.
Derby College Group student Laiba Waheed has found her calling, working with teenagers with special needs.
Laiba, aged 20, is on a Level 3 residential childcare course and is learning in her workplace, Alderwasley Hall School in beautiful rural Alderwasley, Derbyshire.
She loves her job but would have found it much harder to continue to train at the school without outside funding.
Her course is paid for via the Adult Skills Fund, an initiative run by East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to help adults gain skills and training to equip them for an apprenticeship or further learning.
Laiba said: “When college and people at school knew I wanted to stay on at Alderwasley Hall after my probationary period ended, they told me about the Adult Skills Fund and how to apply to it.
“Having my course paid for motivates me even more than if I was paying for it myself. I want to make the most of the funding I’ve received so I feel I’m giving something back.”
Laiba initially took a Travel & Tourism course at the Roundhouse when she first left school and worked as a lounge host at East Midlands Airport.
She changed career about a year ago and now works a 40-hour week at Alderwasley Hall, providing overnight and daytime support to teenagers aged from 15 to 19.
Laiba added: “I work with residential students outside of their lessons, supporting them to learn everyday life skills so they’re independent when they leave us.
“They’ve recently all got bus passes so we go out on buses and trains. It’s a blessing to work with special needs students.
“The best part of my job apart from the students is being with such a great team. We’re like one big family and I always feel so supported by my colleagues and my college mentor, Paula.
“The staff help me with my college work and are so encouraging. I’m quite well organised, luckily, which is why I’m coping quite well with balancing work with my studies.
“I’d love to stay at Alderwasley after I finish my Level 3 next year but might want to progress into teaching later on if the opportunity comes up. I’m still only 20 so there’s plenty of time.”
Having my course paid for motivates me even more than if I was paying for it myself.