To whom it may concern
After two years of unemployment following University I got a job as an apprentice at a charity I have dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. Even though I felt I could do the job adequately, I didn’t pass my functional skills in Maths or English. I only worked as an apprentice for 5 months. Once I failed the test, my employer tried to contact the college and they failed to reply.
Access to Work fund failed me, as I didn’t know they existed until it was too late. I needed support but I didn’t know if the equipment they offered would work because I had never used it before and they only gave me a short period of time to prove it would work. Then my probation period was up.
I found being on an apprenticeship just as hard as University. As an apprentice I did not get learning support to prepare me for the functional skills test. The dictionary definition of an apprentice stands for ‘person learning a trade; novice’.
I am concerned that I will be unemployed for another two years then reach 25 and get even less support to find employment. I don’t know what the percentage is of young people with learning difficulties who are unemployed but it must be quite high.
I am more worried for others who have less support than I do as I keep hitting brick walls and this is damaging to confidence and ambition.
Yours Sincerely,
Jessica Starns
YEUK Youth Ambassador
YEUK Says “Sadly this isn’t made up; this letter was written by Jess who is one of our very brilliant youth ambassadors. Jess is smart, bright, enthusiastic, reliable and creative, she is great with people and yet after 2 long years of looking for her first employment break she is still hitting brick walls. Jess wrote this letter because she wanted to ask government what they were doing for young people just like her. We know there is not enough provision, support or understanding for young people with SEN across the government, training and employment sectors and more must be done!”
