Region: Scotland

Year: 2024

Jamie is autistic and has ADHD, which brings plenty of extra challenges when it comes to both studying and finding employment.

“During my time as a chemistry student at the University of St Andrews, I struggled very badly with my studies and consequently, my mental health, where I fought through every kind of burnout imaginable just to keep up with the minimum standards to pass. This severely inhibited my ability to gain employment, as I had to study for re-sit exams during every one of my summer holidays, so I couldn’t work or intern and build up my skills and experience during those times, or even get some real respite from my studies, leading me to becoming even more burnt out.

During my term time, I did try and get a job with the student union as a team member and in some of the student halls as a kitchen porter, but even when I succeeded in getting an interview, I found it difficult to answer the interviewer’s questions in the way they wanted due to the communication differences I have as an autistic person. I finally finished my studies in August 2023 with a poor final result and was left too mentally broken and beaten down to do anything for nearly a year. When I had healed enough to start looking for jobs properly, I was hampered by both the lingering effects of my mental health when it came to actually making applications and my lack of experience – especially for someone now in their mid-twenties – and from not being able to work during my summer holidays or term time, which meant I had little to show for myself.”

In October 2024, Jamie came across Springboard at a Careers Fair in Edinburgh.

“Over the course of the programme, I developed my ability to interact with customers/members of the public in a professional manner – something which I had difficulty with at my previous hospitality job – and provide excellent customer service. I learned the methods of preparation for various types of drinks and how to serve them properly. The training I received in the programme helped me become more conscientious in my responsibilities as a hospitality team member – and team member in general – as well as the rules around serving alcohol within the law.

At the end of the programme, I had the opportunity to do a work placement behind the bar at a Wind and the Willows-themed restaurant called Badger & Co., and put what I had learned into practice. There, I was able to learn by doing; building on the skills I had developed as I worked and building a lot of new confidence in myself as I went along – something that was noted by my manager – which helped me improve further. The confidence I gained from the programme, especially the placement at the end, helped bring me out of my ‘doomer’ mindset and restore my confidence in myself and my abilities. I was also able to meet lots of interesting people and make a few friends on the course, whom I still keep in touch with as we cheer each other on in our new careers.

With the new hospitality knowledge, experience, and qualifications I gained from the programme, as well as my improved interview and CV-writing skills, I finally successfully landed a paid job on the bar team at Gusto Italian, a well-reputed restaurant in the centre of Edinburgh, which I feel I have done well in so far.”