Derwen College alumnus hailed for Wrexham Premier Inn work

James Lewis, who has Down’s Syndrome, works in housekeeping for two days a week at Premier Inn Wrexham North..

James can independently make up a room to industry standard, and knows the routine and exacting standards of Premier Inn off by heart.

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He said: “I like everything about my job and do it all on my own.

“I like my job, my uniform, and friends here.

“My job makes me proud, and makes my mum proud, too.”

James, aged 28, started learning housekeeping skills as part of his training while at Derwen which supports students into work and greater independence.

Derwen College has a small training hotel, which is modelled on a three-bedroom Premier Inn and was created with support from Premier Inn and Novus Property Solutions.

Named Hotel 751, it was the first Premier Inn training centre of its kind in the country, and opened to guests in 2019.

James with the team at Wrexham North Premier Inn. (Image: Premier Inn/Whitbread)

Karen Aguilera, Operations Manager at Wrexham North Premier Inn, worked with Derwen’s transition team to make his induction as smooth as possible.

James has also moved into supported living with a friend, and travels independently on the bus to work.

Karen said: “James is a good employee.

“He likes coming to work.

“He just gets on with his work and knows what he’s doing.

“He comes to our social events, including bowling and the Christmas do.

“He was quite shy at the first one, but now we can’t get him off the dancefloor.”

As James became more confident in his housekeeping skills, he travelled to an external work placement at Premier Inn, once a week. 

When he finished at College, he was keen to use his skills in a paid job.

Knowing how well he had done at his work placement, Premier Inn Wrexham North were keen to offer him his first job.

Derwen College Work Experience and Supported Internship Coordinator, Abi Baker, said: “James was a pleasure to work with, he’s a hard worker with a cheeky sense of humour.

“We are so proud of him for all his hard work during work experience in our training hotel, and then externally.

Simon Ewins, Managing Director for Premier Inn and Restaurants and Whitbread Executive Sponsor for Disability Inclusion congratulated James and said they are very proud to have him on their team.