Thomas came to Landmarks in 2019 hoping to overcome communication barriers and find a way into employment. Thomas found it difficult to recognise his strengths and lacked in confidence, requiring lots of reassurance.
Thomas began to form friendships in college, centred around sports and playing Pool at break times. This allowed Thomas to naturally develop his communication and allowed him to feel part of a wider community. This also enabled Thomas to be more talkative with the staff, resulting in building professional relationships as well as his personal ones.
As Thomas began to feel more confident, he trialled a work placement at Sainsburys, working in the café. Here, Thomas’ role involved serving food, clearing tables and washing and drying the pots so that they could be reused. Thomas demonstrated his ability to succeed in this role, however still needed reassurance to recognise that his initiative and instinct were correct. From here, Thomas would be questioned on how he felt the job should be done, and then put that into practice – supporting him to identify his own ability.
Thomas’ progress towards employment was halted when the pandemic hit, however in June 2021 he commenced on a Supported Internship with our partners at Greene King. Thomas was encouraged to use all of his past experience and found that he settled into the role well. Thomas was able to demonstrate initiative, knowledge of the tasks and a willingness to succeed, but still needed to develop his communication with customers and the team around him. To support him with this, Thomas began to practice bar work and kitchen work, as both roles naturally require communication, which gave Thomas a natural environment to develop in.
Thomas’ final term at Landmarks was action-packed! Not only did he pass his driving test, but he also secured employment at Greene King for 2 days per week. This not only demonstrates Thomas progress and achievements but shows his perseverance and determination that allowed him to knock down the barriers placed in front of him to prepare him for adult life. Thomas stated, ‘I am happy with my job, and I know that I can do things if I try.’
