Young mum juggles career plans and motherhood

A young Cwmbran mum has proved that teenage motherhood needn’t be an end to attaining qualifications and a fulfilling career.

 

Abbie Gillard from Cwmbran fell pregnant with her son Joey, now two-and-a-half years, while studying for A levels at Fairwater High School. After Joey was born, Abbie, now 19, returned to school but found she had lost a lot of confidence and soon dropped out. 

 

When Joey was 11-months old, Abbie contacted the Cwmbran Centre for Young People (CCYP) in Cwmbran, where staff provided childcare for Joey while she completed an NVQ level 1 in Business Administration.

 

Not sure of her next step, the newly confident Abbie discussed her options with Careers Wales Gwent and Torfaen Young People Support Service, who explained that she didn’t necessarily need to go back to school in order to have a successful career.

 

Abbie is now working towards achieving an NVQ in Customer Service with Torfaen Training and has a work placement at Community Service Volunteers (CSV) in Pontypool.

 

“I developed a lot of new skills while doing my NVQ and my confidence grew by helping out in the CCYP offices,” said Abbie. “I was nervous about leaving Joey at the crèche so I went with him the first few times. Now, I’ve got to know the staff really well and they are absolutely amazing with Joey. He really looks forward to going.

 

“I wanted to break away from the stereotype of a teenage mum and show that I can juggle looking after my son and having a career. I hope my story inspires other young mums and makes them aware that there are options other than the traditional education route.”