Kirklees Together

Tim is autistic, has a passion for all things financial and has an accountancy qualification. He loves to input data and is a completer with excellent IT skills, always striving to do his best and produce work to the highest standards. He’s extremely organised and applies his problem-solving skills and polite, friendly, and approachable manner to everything he does.

Tim was referred to REAL Employment from Project Search, Huddersfield and has previously worked as an apprentice in our finance department. After Tim’s job coach observed him in the role, she soon realised that Tim needed little support as he was a whizz with spreadsheets. However, Tim needed support with non-work-related issues – the things neurotypical people take for granted.

Support from REAL Employment

Tim had to deal with invoicing and phone calls in his role and his job coach helped him a lot when communicating as a council employee. He would occasionally get calls from angry customers, and Tim found this problematic. With his job coach, they talked about examples of how he should deal with these requests.

Tim struggles to understand complex meanings so new phrases and words need to be introduced with meaning to avoid causing Tim stress. Tim’s job coach had a word with his manager it was agreed that Tim would have a place where he could sit and think and was provided with noise cancelling headphones.

Tim also struggles with public transport and one day because the bus didn’t stop for him, he didn’t know what to do and just went home without calling work. Tim had a chat with his job coach who said if this happens again, don’t worry, and just wait for the next bus – and that’s exactly what Tim did.

Successful Job Application

Following his experience in the finance department, Tim interviewed for multiple jobs. He was successful in one of the roles and Tim’s new manager now supports him in his role.

Contact Us

If you’re someone who faces barriers to work, because of a learning disability and/or autism contact REAL@kirklees.gov.uk or visit their website to access support from our amazing team REAL employment | Kirklees Council