Amy Clarke
I left school in the late 1980s. I thought it was important to get qualifications, so I went to college where I got an NVQ Level 1 in Business Studies.
I started looking for
employment
Employment means having a job.
when I left college, with help from my mum. I felt it was important to apply for jobs that I wanted to go for.
My mum went with me to see a careers officer who put me forward for a place on an employment scheme called Hackney Youth Workforce. I don't remember having to fill in any forms or do an
interview
An interview is a meeting where you talk to someone or a group of people about something. When you have an interview for a job, you have to answer questions and say why you would be good at the job. The person who gives the best answers is offered the job.
, I just went along and met the staff and the trainees.
On the scheme I found that some of the trainees were not friendly to me and I felt like they discriminated against me. I kept myself busy looking for jobs in the newspaper - there was no internet then so you couldn't search online.
The scheme lasted 2 years. It taught me how to be part of a workforce. I learnt administrative duties like filing, inputting data and taking calls.
When the scheme had finished I started to apply for lots of jobs. I found this quite stressful, particularly filling in the long application forms and attending interviews, as often these were not
accessible
Accessible means something is easy for people to use or join in with. For example: Accessible writing means the writing is easy to read and understand.
for people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
. For example, some interviewers did not phrase their questions using accessible language and did not allow me enough time to give my answers properly.
Things improved when I moved into a supported living
Supported living is when you live in your own home with support from staff. People who live in supported living have a tenancy agreement. facility. Here I was given the support I needed to have help applying for benefits as my job was part-time so wasn't enough money.
My
support worker
Support workers
Support workers are people who are paid to give care and support to people who need it.
are people who are paid to give care and support to people who need it.
helped me and found out that I could apply for Working Persons
Tax
Tax is the money that pays for things like schools, hospitals and the police. There are different types of taxes like
income tax
Income tax is the money that is taken out of the money you earn every month. It helps to pay for things we all need like hospitals and schools.
,
VAT
VAT is also called Value Added Tax. VAT is the extra money you pay when you buy things. The money goes to
the government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax people should pay and how things like the National Health Service (NHS) should work.
to pay for things like schools and hospitals.
and
council tax
Council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
Tax is the money that people pay to the
council
A council is also called a
local authority
A local authority is also called a council. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools,
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
(support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. It helps to pay for things like social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
.
Credit and Housing Benefit because of the hours I was working.
I still have some support nowadays with my benefits. I am finding the changes to benefits very confusing and I'm glad I have the help of my support worker to explain what I can and can't do. I want to be able to continue to work part-time as I love my job, but I need to make sure I am still able to claim my benefits.
I now work part-time at the head office of Royal Mencap Society as the Digital Assistant. As part of my job I write blogs, help with the online
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
and support the Communications Team. I originally for the job here by Mencap's Pathway, where I was a London Division Assistant. A job coach suggested that I should put myself forward for the Digital Assistant role. Instead of an interview they allowed me to do
work experience
Work experience is when you try out a job to help you learn new skills.
and after a few weeks they formally offered me the job. This made all the difference in the world as I find interviews really hard, so to be able to show people what I can do, on the job, was so much better. I wish more employers did things like this. It would help so many people with a learning disability get into jobs.
I have been at Mencap for 23 years now and I love working for an organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together. that aims to empower people with a learning disability to be as independent as possible.
It's important that people with a learning disability are employed, as well as people without, and they do not face barriers to work. Offering support to do application forms and interviews, as well as benefits advice can all help with this.
Apprenticeships and work experience opportunities are also valuable routes into employment as they allow people to get experience in a role and receive training before going for a permanent position. This allows people to experience the workplace and gradually introduces them to the responsibilities of work.
If you need advice about employment, I am not sure what I did 26 years ago will apply these days, but I hope that me telling you will help. I suggest you look on the Mencap website and if you need to talk to someone to get help, contact the Learning Disability Helpline.