The Long Game held our ‘All About Careers’ employability event at Sheffield Hallam University on the 23rd March 2022. The event was sponsored by the National Lottery’s Community Fund and by the Learning Support Centre.
Autistic graduates are less likely to be employed, particularly in supervisory roles, than any other graduate group. Our peer-led autism employability charity supports autistic graduates to lead the charge in addressing this employment gap by providing them with a platform on which to discuss their workplace experiences and careers advice with autistic students. This enables autistic students to develop the skills required to transition from education to graduate employment.
At our ‘All About Careers’ event, neurodiverse speakers discussed a range of topics including ‘Professional Identity’, ‘Using Social Media Professionally’, ‘What Employers Are Looking For’, and ‘Working At Your Best’. Attendees also heard talks about available employability support and productivity tools from Learning Support and Assistive Technology professionals. Those attending could network with other participants, while nationwide students who were unable to come in person were able to watch talks recorded at the event online. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive.
Now, with the help of collaborating charities and external sources of funding, The Long Game is planning future events. Our three student ambassadors are designing a careers event funded by Ambitious About Autism. The design process enables our ambassadors to gain useful work experience, and the event will offer autistic students further employability and networking opportunities. We’re also publishing guides intended to enable autistic graduates and students to succeed, which will consist of useful tips on topics like Access to Work and navigating available support. We are working with Occupational Health teams for this project.
Elsewhere, we’re collaborating with the Learning Support Centre to plan a national training event for autism mentors, to enable them to provide the best possible support to autistic students. Finally, we are publishing a webpage called ‘What Employers Are Looking For’, featuring talks with neurodivergent managers about what they like to see in interviewees, and their advice for autistic people at work. These interviews will be accessible nationwide, since transcripts and recordings will be posted online. We’re currently looking for two more volunteers to interview for this project.
If you’d like to learn more about support we have previously provided – or are interested in collaborating with us – please contact us at gemmalong@empoweringautistics.org.
