Working in partnership with Story Construction was a fantastic experience. The team at Story were keen to ensure that the Summer School experience and environment was inclusive and supportive for our participants. Each week there was something new and different to learn and experience.
We started with getting to know the team and learning all about the different roles within construction, why and how they all connect with each other and why they are all important. We got to experience the different machinery and visit some live building sites, all safety procedures met of course, as being safe within construction is highly important to the team at Story. For us, this meant that we not only learned all the safety procedures, but we also got to wear some fun PPE.
There was a natural energy of fun and learning between the participants and the team at Story. There was fantastic engagement with the participants who were excited to learn about the world of construction but also the team at Story who were eager to learn about the participants; who they were and how their skills and abilities could positively impact the world of construction. All whilst, providing lots of fun learning opportunities.
We saw some natural ability from a participant within the technology side of construction... and we may even have had a future machine operator within our group!
For me personally, I knew nothing about construction, so facilitating a group of participants within this sector was an exciting new challenge for me. Thankfully I had the incredible support from the team at Story and my own knowledge of working with and coaching Autistic people and people with a learning disability. It meant that the team at Story and I worked closely together to make sure that we combined our knowledge.
And the outcome? Well it was simply fantastic!
Were there things we've learnt from the process? Absolutely, but the thought of being able to work with the team at Story again and facilitate another programme for people excites and motivates me.
But above all it was very clear reminder for me and I hope many others in the industry sector, and other industries, that autistic people and people with learning disabilities can achieve so much more than society may at first think and can, with the right support, be a part of all employment sectors.
If you want to find out more about how you can get involved, whether it's your organisation, or you as an individual, get in touch with our team below.