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graduates with asperegers forgotten

ALADDIN

Many people with AS will have great difficulty obtaining employment.

The situation for graduates with is worse, especially outside London. In addition people with aspergers have problems but graduates are over-qualified non - graduate jobs or their neuro - diverse profile makes them unsuitable.

Support from the government is tailored towards people with few qualifications.

In London, there are more companies, a better chance of understanding, better services.

There is no real support for adults with AS to obtain well paid long term career related jobs.

  • Aladdin's last point about few jobs where a person can sit in isolation and work is crucial to the perceived benefit of getting a degree (though I think the process itself is beneficial for many people on the spectrum as a demonstration of ability that might otherwise be harder to prove).

    The boffin locked away in a little room has long gone. Nor is there such a thing now as an academic (whether lecturer or researcher) being able to work in isolation. It just doesn't happen. We need teamwork in order to bring together skills and disciplines at a level of specialism that one person can no longer accomplish.

    But teamwork is hard for people with AS.  Einstein, if he had been starting out as a graduate now, probably wouldn't have got a job, or any situation that would enable hiim to make his ideas known.

    Which is why I reiterate I think employment prospects for graduates on the spectrum is something NAS needs to address.

    Thanks ALADDIN for clarifying Prospects. I've not had an opportunity to explore whether it works, but my impression is it doesn't help graduates on the spectrum much.

  • The Prospects service now only operates in London. Mainly people living in London can really benefit because the people are mainly placed in low paid,low skilled jobs. People cannot commute from the Home Counties to London unless the pay is high.

    Outside London, the companies are smaller, which means a person has a much higher chance of being a multi tasker (communication skills, social skills required).

    Many graduates struggled to get well paid career related job even before the recession. The competition for graduates was tough, now it is much tougher. People to have apply for jobs, perform well at interviews and possibly pscometric tests/assessment centres. Very few aspie graduates have managed to be the best candidates.

    If graduates do not secure career related job they work as administrators or call centre workers. I ccan work in call centres but the vast majority of peopple with AS cannot work in call centres. A substantial proportion of people with AS have dyspraxia which makes working in administration and call centres difficult. Manual work is not an option for most aspies. Outside London, there is higher likelihood of the work being controlled by recruiment agencies which generally have a poor understanding of disabilities esdpecially hidden disabilities.

    Graduates are over-qualified for many non - graduate jobs.

    The job centre is not really interested ion helping graduates. Disability Employment Advisors generally have a poor knowledge of neuro - diverse conditions. Remploy, Shaw - Trust, RBLI, A4E are poor at supporting graduates achieve their potential.

    There are very few jobs today where a person can sit in isolation and work. IT and Engineering jobs have been destroyed in the UK.

  • Perhaps I was being too negative in my two postings about fitting in and about the current job market based on what happened last time.

    However having supported undergraduates on the spectrum and then seen them not finding work after graduation, and been to seminars and workshops where graduates on the spectrum are reporting the same problems, I do feel it is something NAS needs to look into more.

    While there are things like Prospects around, and some of the local groups that advocate for young graduates on the spectrum, as for example several in the Birmingham area, there are too many not finding secure employment.

    I guess the moderators need to put a positive spin on things, but this is an area that really needs some campaign initiatives.

  • Hello Aladdin and welcome to the community.  I'm sorry to hear that you are finding it difficult to get support with employment - perhaps some members have found services that are helpful and could share these.

    You may be aware that the NAS has an employment and training service called Prospects and also runs a scheme to support graduates looking for work.  I'm not sure of the area where you live and whether these may be suitable to you but you may find some of the general information on the webpages useful or the service may be of interest to other members.

    http://www.autism.org.uk/our-services/employment-support.aspx

    I hope that's helpful,

    Alex - mod

  • I was out of work for nearly a year and a half during the previous recession (around 1991-2).

    Exactly the same problem occurred then. The skilled job areas dried up, with lots of sectors having massive lay-offs. But to get a less skilled job you had to compete with a larger number of people, and employers took a dim view of over-qualified people applying beneath them, not least as it was felt that they would leave for something better as soon as the job market improved.

    The trouble is, then as I think still applies now, the DHSS/Benefits office insists you apply for jobs well down your skills level. I was even told to pretend I hadn't got my degree and PhD and to make up a story to cover the gaps resulting. This with the threat that if I didn't I'd lose benefit (and in consequence my mortgage insurance cover - that was a common leverage then).

    The best advice is to aim a bit higher, because the numbers competing are fewer each level you go up.

    I had considerable trouble being interviewed. My low self esteem really kicked in. I manage formal dialogue by play acting a bit, to hide the communication weaknesses. That's a disaster in interviews. I came out too assertive and bossy. Or else I fell apart  on questions about relating to others at work. That sort of thing tends to bring out body language deficiencies.

    I was a job club champion, so got extended time, well over the normal 6 months on 6 months off. This is because I kept up the required rate of applications. But they were futile applications pitched well below my skills. They just annoyed employers. On the up side though, doing this kept me going. I became very good at making applications, and improving my case.

    The trouble is, obviously, people on the spectrum lose out. They are too easily spotted as different at interview. That was a further reason for not applying well below my previous occupational background.

    Unfiortunately the DHSS/Benefits system really does not understand disability. There are too many rules. In the early 90s thousands of graphics people were being layed off, partly due to the shift to digital. All they needed was retraining in computer graphics. All the Government would offer was training in basic office skills. Anyone going for any other training forfeited benefits.

    What is now needed, in the current recession, is a case made for training to help unemployed disabled people find work. Unfortunately we are condemned never to be governed by anyone who actually knows anything about anything that matters.

  • I agree. There are many graduates with AS unable to get jobs.

    I think a large part of it though is about fitting in. Most work environments function around a social framework (in academic circles termed "being collegiate"). This social infrastructure isn't necessary to do the job. It is all about the group of people doing the job being able to connect on a social basis.

    A person on the spectrum may get a job taking account of their disability, but the social infrastructure will find a way of ousting a perceived socially incompatible element. They will find ways of making life difficult or impossible while not actually appearing to discriminate.

    My own working lifetime struggle was about fitting in. I could do the job, bar a need for frequent clarification, which tended to get me noticed. But my work colleagues always seemed concerned that I didn't belong, wasn't one of their kind, wasn't collegiate, didn't talk the right way etc etc. Attempts were made to get me sacked or transferred, but fortunately most of these failed through lack of anything other than opinion or hearsay. But the frequent attempts to get me out took a toll on my morale and self esteem.

    I did survive in several careers to retirement, first in research & development, then as a lecturer. However I did get a PhD, albeit not completed until 30, having started as an undergraduate at 21.  Also I could write well, and although very focussed I had productive skills, just awkward gaps. And I could lecture well, which is part play acting and less need for eye contact and body language.

    I have several times written to Ministers direct, or through MPs to try to get some legislation in the workplace that prevents competent workers being excluded from being employed because of social integration skills. I think the system prefers a workforce of chummy NTs which mean people on the spectrum have little chance.

    Something needs to be done to overcome "fitting in".