Foundation Degree with Bristol Rovers helped Will build confidence in finding his future career path.

Will always wanted to be a football coach, but lacked the confidence to fulfil his dream.

He was nervous about seeking out the opportunities that would allow him to progress into coaching and not comfortable in asking for help either. This was a driver in Will’s decision to enroll on the USW Foundation degree course at Bristol Rovers. He was fan of the Club and the course offered the chance to gain coaching experience alongside his studies, which in turn removed the daunting idea of having to find the opportunities himself.

He described himself as “never the confident person in the room, I would always be the one at the back being quiet.”  However, the foundation degree nurtured Will’s confidence and exposed him to real-world working environments that took him out of his comfort zone and allowed him to grow both personally and professionally.

The University of South Wales allows students to gain practical experience in their desired nature of work, whilst allowing for a blended learning approach where students have both face-to face and online learning. The courses which are hosted at your local football club has a huge emphasis on gaining real world learning through placements with students only having to attend the University for short residential periods.

The foundation degree also provides students with the ability to gain further qualifications alongside their studies including their coaching badges, something that helped Will to hone in on his future.

He explained: “I felt this differed from different educational experiences as I was able to gain work experience whilst studying. I was able to gain qualifications along the way and was able to work on different projects that the trust offered to find the area of work I enjoyed the most.”

As someone who struggled for confidence, Will hugely benefited from the small class size as it allowed him to gain more in depth, individual support from his degree mentor. Will has continued at his degree provider, Bristol Rovers Community Trust where he is now Head of Inclusion and Degree Mentor on the same programme that provided him the platform to develop his self-belief, confidence and career aspirations.

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