Toby's housekeeping skills secure him paid work
A Prior's Court young person is now in
paid employment with us, marking a
major milestone both for him and the
organisation.
Young person Toby, who like all young people at
Prior's Court has complex autism, became a paid
employee on Tuesday, 1 March, working within the
Housekeeping department.
Individuals with autism face huge challenges in
entering the workforce, with the latest statistics
suggesting only one in five are employed - the
highest rate of unemployment of all disabled
groups.
Toby is working two four hour shifts per week,
under the supervision of Carmel Haye, a Job Coach
in Prior's Court's Housekeeping programme of
vocational learning.
Like all staff members within the Housekeeping
team, Toby reports to a line manager, Debbie
Bradshaw, who conducts review meetings with him.
Toby is primarily responsible for the housekeeping
of our on-site flat for parental visits, but works
anywhere Debbie assigns him to.
To help Toby better understand the concept of
his employment, an adapted job description
and contract was created by Prior's Court's onsite
speech and language therapy team, while
discussions with his parents were had around his
financial remuneration.
Toby is the second of our young people to gain
employment at Prior's Court, but the first within a
new careers process with the aim to secure paid
employment for young people here and with
third-party organisations.
Nickie Dunphy, Prior's Court Careers Lead/Job
Coach Co-ordinator, said: "It is important to stress
that Toby is filling a genuine vacancy. There is
a skills gap here that Toby fills and we are not
simply creating jobs for young people.
"This has been a real team effort to get this
far. From Toby's Job Coach Carmel and Tutor
Nikki to the Speech and Language Therapy and
Safeguarding teams and Toby's
residential home staff, all
have pulled together to
ensure we have built a
new process to follow
for all young people."
Toby, who also
completes
a weekly
housekeeping
work
placement at
Douai Abbey
near Woolhampton, is on a fixed term contract as he
is due to transition from Prior's Court this summer.
Toby's parents, Emma and Adam, said: "We are
very excited for Toby to be given the opportunity
to demonstrate the life skills that he has been
taught at Prior's Court over a number of years, such
as developing his speech and language. The staff
have been amazing with him and his confidence
has blossomed as a result."
Sue Piper, Prior's Court Director of Young People's
Learning, said: "This is enormously exciting news for
both Toby and for Prior's Court. People with autism
face the very real prospect of never having paid work
and so miss out on the life opportunities and sense
of self-worth employment can bring.
"We want our young people to secure employment
with organisations in the local area, but it is
important that we practice what we say and
demonstrate how it can be done and so give
confidence to potential employers
about the skills of our
young people."