'Life-changing ' scholarships support those impacted by Covid

A community initiative launched by distance learning provider Open Study College helped more than 50 people who had their careers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Big Help Out initiative provided a range of free career support and saw 11-part scholarships, and one fully-funded scholarship, awarded to help those students who were struggling to finance their studies.

Abby Carter was made redundant from her role in cabin crew for an airline company, while also going through treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma when she was granted a fully-funded scholarship.

She said: “I 've nearly finished my animal care course which I started in the winter. It 's been really nice to go back to writing assignments and to read about a subject that I enjoy. My tutor has been brilliant and gives me great feedback.

“I 've finished my treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma so I 'm on the mend now and ready to finish both of my courses before I go back out to work. ”

Part scholarship student, Daniel Traher said: “The Big Help Out really did just that! I was awarded a part-funded biology course whilst doing two other A Levels at the same time. ”

Part scholarship student, Rosie Clark said: “The scholarship has been a great help to me especially in these hard times with Covid. I appreciate all the help Open Study College has given me with my studies. Over lockdown I moved across to another city, and OSC allowed me to be flexible with my studies and not worry about a change of colleges. ”

During the course of the campaign designed specifically to provide direct career and job seeking assistance, Open Study College collaborated with a number of partners to provide free support, including CV reviews and critique workshops, pre-interview testing, career guidance via online video chats and free access to resources such as mindfulness videos, career planning, and goal-setting downloadables.

Collaborators included recruitment agencies, a certified trainer and career coach, Clear from the Crowd - a company that helps people to stand out in the career market - and Project Awesome Life, a mindfulness coach.

In addition, Open Study College gifted a number of £50 Amazon vouchers inside its study packs to surprise and delight students on 'Blue Monday ' during the third national lockdown in January, and created a range of career-related support collateral including 'how to ' guides and a free employability guide. It also donated to mental health charity, Mind.

Director of marketing at Open Study College, Sadie Cooper (pictured), said: “As a family-run business with the facility to help people retrain or develop their current skill sets, the whole team at Open Study College felt passionate about providing support.

“That coupled with the excellent guidance from our collaborators has meant that we 've been able to help those that have needed a boost of confidence to get back on their feet during the pandemic.

“This campaign has been close to our hearts and with the ongoing impacts of Covid and many still requiring support, we 've decided to continue on our mission to make education accessible to all and have set up an ongoing 'career kickstart ' programme with the involvement of key partnerships we 've made during The Big Help Out. ”