A University of Winchester graduate has played a key role in creating a ‘passport’ aimed at helping young neurodivergent people make the transition from education to work.
Luke Jackson (pictured above) has been working with Disability Advice and Welfare Network (DAWN) and Suffolk Law Centre on the Autism Education Leavers Passport.
The 25-year-old, who graduated with a degree in Computer Aided Design in 2023, contributed to the content and design of the 35-page booklet.
Luke drew from his experiences as a job seeker and the skills he learned at university.
“I really enjoyed what I learned at Winchester and the one-to-one tutoring I received,” said Luke, who works as a volunteer with DAWN where he is a website administrator.
The booklet comes in response to the findings from the Office of National Statistics which showed that almost 80 per cent of autistic adults are not working and that they are the least likely disabled group to be in any employment.
This is despite many people with autism, like Luke, being highly qualified.
Luke, from Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, explained that autistic people often have the skills required when applying for a job but have difficulty in presenting themselves at interviews and employees make few allowances for them.
"I'm hoping that this will give people the knowledge that they don't have to be alone with trying to find a job in the future," he said.
The new guide, funded by the Baring Foundation, contains advice on how to make the transition from school to higher education, how to claim benefits, how to apply for work and how to prepare for job interviews.
There’s also a two-page ‘Know Your Rights’ section written by Suffolk Law Centre to give neurodiverse young people information about their rights as disabled persons in the workplace and to request reasonable adjustments for disability where appropriate.
Luke is currently working on the design of an SOS version of the passport, which can be carried in a small container attached to a keyring.
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