Kerry finds fusion in his new job

A 58 year old man from Reading found work in nuclear fusion after a four year absence from work, working as a CAD designer for Rullion at Cullham Science Centre. This job is a fantastic result for Kerry, he has overcome many barriers to find employment again, and he is back doing the same job he did previous to his unemployment.

Kerry is profoundly deaf and uses British Sign Language as a first language; he also suffers from multiple sclerosis, which has left him with restricted use of both his arms and legs leaving him needing to use an electric wheelchair to aid his mobility. He was referred onto the DWP/ European Social Funded Work and Health Programme by the Jobcentre in February 2018, having previously been with other work providers. Kerry hadn’t had a positive experience with the previous work providers, as he felt he wasn’t given enough support, but he decided to give it one last chance with Kennedy Scott’s Work and Health Programme.

Giles, Kerry’s Change Coach, booked a sign language interpreter to attend their meetings, which helped a long way to alleviate Kerry’s fears of going through another programme and not receiving the help he needs. Giles said about their initial meeting: “When we had our initial assessment, Kerry informed me that had previously received a lot of interest from employers, but they would always phone him, which was no good to him. I suggested to him that he remove his phone number from his CV and then asked him to send me a list of employers he was interested in, and I would contact them on his behalf.” As Kerry was already highly qualified, it wasn’t long before they found an employer who would be interested in employing Kerry, and in the same job role he previously had.

Rullion had never employed someone with Kerry’s barriers before, despite this they thought he would be a good candidate for the job, but they needed some help and reassurance that they would be able to provide Kerry with a suitable work environment. Giles explained to them about Access to Work, which is a programme designed to help employers make reasonable adjustments that a disabled person may need in order to do his job, which helped elevated their fears and Kerry started work in June 2018.

Access to work now help Kerry out in his travel to work and also arrange for a sign language interpreter to be present on pre-arranged days. As part of Kerry’s ongoing in work support, Giles has arranged regular meetings between all parties and the interpreter, ensuring Kerry is receiving all the support he needs to sustain employment and that he is as comfortable as possible in work.

Kerry’s wife also joined the Work and Health Programme at the same time as Kerry, and also suffers from deafness, she said: “seeing Kerry find work, and seeing the help he received has really been an eye opener for me. Being along the journey with him I had all but given up on the process as well, but Kerry finding work has made me optimistic that I will be in work soon as well”.