Tomas has Asperger syndrome and dyslexia and, before contacting Prospects, had been unemployed for two years.
Tomas was determined to find paid employment and joined Prospects' work preparation programme. As part of the programme, he attended group and one-to-one sesssions which covered the areas he found difficult, including time management; understanding instructions; and communicating effectivley at work.
At the same time, Tomas started a six-week work experience placement at WHSmith. Here, he developed skills in a busy retail environment such as teamworking, customer service, stock control and time management. WHSmith were positive about the work Tomas did, which boosted his confidence.
Tomas continued to come to Prospects to attend job-finding sessions. He became more confident about completing application forms (previously, having dyslexia meant that he found this an obstacle) and going for interviews and, in due course, secured a temporary full-time job with Habitat, working as a stock assistant.
At Habitat, Tomas learned how to store and arrange stock, and became friends with his close colleagues. We gave his managers information about supporting staff with Asperger syndrome, and visited Tomas twice during his initial placement.
Habitat took Tomas on as one of 25 Christmas employees, but offered him a permanent post the following year. Tomas is very happy in his job and no longer needs support from Prospects staff.