After redundancy, I’m shaping my future with the OU and GO Wales

Who says there’s only one path to success? After receiving an offer for a brick university at 18, Candace Louison decided to do things differently by jumping straight into the world of work.

Not wanting to put her life on hold to gain her qualifications, Candace, now 24, began studying Business Management (Marketing) with The Open University in Wales. It’s given her the ultimate flexibility – and meant she was ready to take on a new OU internship opportunity when the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly changed her plans:

I originally chose the OU because I liked the idea of working while studying and being completely independent.

The application process was straightforward and far less overwhelming compared to applying through UCAS. Also, compared to other organisations, the OU was the cheapest option for pursuing higher education.

I chose to study to change my career goals and because of how redundancy-prone the retail sector is. I wanted to study a subject which was practical and transferable to any sector and chose Business Management and Marketing.

Unfortunately, during my second module, I was made redundant from my retail job due to the pandemic. Being a retail advisor during COVID-19, there was a lot of uncertainty. That was a really anxious time because I wasn’t sure where I was going to go from there. Thankfully, an opportunity came up within The Open University through their GO Wales virtual internships.