Simon gets digital

A Theatre and Arts enthusiast from Musselburgh looks to get into employment using his passion in IT.

Why Simon joined the Fair Start Scotland service

Simon has lived with Autism his whole life and had never worked previously but he held experience from numerous volunteering positions with the most recent being for British Heart Foundation and Portobello Old People Project.

Simon knew he wanted to obtain a part-time job that gave him security however he needed help to improve his ICT skills and confidence. His Autism made him very nervous and he found it difficult to know how to begin the application process.

How Fair Start Scotland helped

Simon was introduced to his Adviser Victoria who discovered his love of IT and enrolled him onto Learn My Way. This taught Simon how to use the internet from basic to intermediate tasks. Simon also attended a variety of our training courses including Digital Skills, Confidence Building and Interview Skills.

With help from Victoria, Simon wrote to the local theatres as he was interested in getting volunteering experience in Theatre and Arts. Simon’s confidence improved dramatically during his time with Fair Start Scotland and he was able to give a speech on raising the awareness of Autism at Strathclyde University. This was a very nerve wrecking for him however with support he was able to overcome the nerves.

Simon has gained a vast amount of IT and digital skills during his time with Fair Start Scotland. With support from Victoria he built the confidence to apply for volunteering work in his desired field. He is now waiting to hear if he has secured a week long placement within a local theatre.

Well done Simon.