Share students Joe, Shammah, and Michael gained valuable work experience at this year’s Wimbledon Championships thanks to Work at Wimbledon, an initiative run by the Wimbledon Foundation. 

The programme creates supported employment opportunities for people who face barriers to employment, helping them develop skills, build confidence, and gain paid work experience at one of the world's most iconic sporting events. 

Getting a first step into paid employment can be a significant challenge for many of our students. Opportunities to gain real workplace experience are often limited, and employers do not always have the knowledge or confidence to make any adjustments needed to support people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. 

This is why inclusive employment programmes like Work at Wimbledon are so important. Our students experienced being part of a professional team, meeting customers, developing workplace skills, and feeling the pride and independence that comes with having a paid job. 

It also gave them the chance to build their CVs and show employers what they can achieve when they're given the right support and opportunity. 

Shammah returned to the retail team in the No. 1 Court Shop, while Joe returned to the Guest Services team, working at the gates in Southern Village. Michael joined Joe in the Guest Services team for his first paid role. 

We asked Joe and Shammah about their experiences: 

Joe said, ‘Doing a lot of work at Wimbledon was the best thing for me, especially being invited back. Guest Services has meant so much to me, greeting customers on the gate when they're entering the grounds or watching the tennis. 

‘I worked with a lot of people, including Florence, who called me the best scanner in the world, and she found me so funny doing a Scottish rain dance! 

‘On my last shift I didn't actually need a support worker. After, we had a meal at Honest Burger with my Gate 12 team. If I do get invited back to Wimbledon again, I would be so happy.’ 

And Shammah told us: 

'I worked really hard, bagged things up. People were buying books and hats, and baseball caps, toys, pens... I was bagging and putting all the stuff in bags. I talked with people about what they’re doing and what football team they like. It went really quick. I started with a new team again, some people were the same as before, some people were new.  

‘I had to remember where to put things and put them where they’re supposed to go. I didn’t like it when it got really hot, it was too hot! But I liked all the nice people and the food. I learnt how to deal with it being quiet and then really packed. One minute it was no people, then ten minutes later really packed. You’d go, “Wow, where did all these people come from?” Next year I’m hoping to do it again, in retail.’ 

We’re incredibly proud of Joe, Shammah, and Michael, and grateful to the Wimbledon Foundation for continuing to make these opportunities possible.