National Lottery funding helps autistic young people access paid experiences of work

The Employ Autism programme simply could not happen without the vital support of our donors. One of our key supporters, and great friends to Ambitious about Autism, is the National Lottery Community Fund. With their lead gift of £367,258, they have been supporting us over the past two years to help autistic young people access the right career guidance; to feel confident about their skills and career goals; and to empower employers to create more accessible and inclusive workplaces.

Our relaunched online community for parents and carers, Talk about Autism, enables us to reach thousands of families across the country with employability-related guidance, whilst our Ambitious Youth Network shares employability advice and paid work opportunities. This has been made possible, in part, through a Covid-19 recovery gift from the National Lottery Community Fund which funded the re-development of our web platform.

We were thrilled that England Director, Phil Chamberlain, was able to join us at our House of Lords event in July where we highlighted the power of autism inclusion in the workplace. Jade Fuller, Employ Autism’s Programme Manager said:

“We are so grateful for the support of the National Lottery Community Foundation. Without them, alongside our other key donors, we could not have achieved all that we have for autistic young people. The changes we make for these young people now, will have meaningful and long-lasting impact.”

This year we will continue to expand the Employ Autism programme and reach many thousands more autistic young people, families, career guidance professionals and employers.