Many young individuals face significant hurdles in finding employment, with a growing number classified as NEET—not in education, employment, or training. Neala, who identifies as autistic, experienced a two-year job search before finding success with the assistance of a specialist employability service. This service, run by a mental health charity, provided support in areas such as confidence-building, teamwork, interview skills, and job application techniques.
"Some places were basically saying, 'We can't give you the job, you've not got good confidence, your eye contact's not good', stuff like that," Neala stated, describing her past interview experiences. She explained that these challenges were exacerbated by her autism, which often led to a loss of confidence. "But obviously that's not easy when you've got autism and those are the traits. So, it knocked my confidence a lot as well."
Following three months of support, Neala secured employment and is now preparing to attend college with aspirations of pursuing a career in supporting older individuals with dementia. Her journey highlights the difficulties many young people encounter when trying to enter the workforce, and the positive impact that tailored support can have.