Ignite is an apprenticeship programme from Paragon Customer Communications. The programme provides opportunities for individuals to work in the communications industry, developing key skills in print, digital marketing, warehouse management, litho print, print finishing and engineering.
In the following article, Lee Bennett, Paragon CC's Learning & Development Business Partner, discusses how Paragon CC have provided Tony, an Out & About client who is autistic, with the opportunity to work with the company on a weekly basis.
Paragon Ignite – expanding the programme
In 2020 we launched the Paragon Ignite programme, giving people an opportunity to join us and see what the business was all about. It was our way of giving back to the local community and an opportunity for people who have never been given a chance before. At the time, we never could have predicted that a global pandemic was just around the corner.
The programme continued to run throughout the pandemic, albeit in a smaller scale. It wasn’t until late 2021 when the business connected with the West Ham United Foundation that could start sharing the Ignite programme with the wider community.
As part of this new push, we connected with Clare, a member of the Employment Support Disability Service Team at Barking Council, who spoke to us about the work she does supporting clients with learning disabilities to achieve their employment goals. Ignite was always about giving opportunities; I don’t think we honestly knew how wide that could possibly go, but Clare had sparked something in us about how Ignite could help someone with a learning disability.
Did we know at that point what sort of journey we were embarking on? No, but it was something we knew we wanted to do, and do properly, to ensure we gave it every possible chance to succeed.
We were promptly introduced to the team at Out and About Services, who spoke about a gentleman called Tony who lit up the room every time he walked into it. Tony has a form of autism which means that he is unable to communicate with people the way you or I would. Because of that, he has never been given an opportunity to progress into paid work. Tony wasn’t going to be able to communicate in an interview or complete an online application form, but he could get involved and do a job if he was given the opportunity, which he had been given previously but only in volunteering roles.
I clearly remember the first meeting with the team from Out and About Services, in which they spoke about Tony and the volunteer roles he had completed. But nothing could prepare us for meeting Tony for the first time, something the Out and About Services team insisted we do before progressing with the opportunity. We met him and were immediately drawn to his infectious smile and his desire to be given a chance - something that Enitan, Tony’s mum, said she had always been told wasn’t possible because of his disability.
It wasn’t easy to get everything in place. We are a large company with many moving parts, including large machinery, over 600 people, and numerous Health and Safety plans in place to ensure safe working conditions. And don’t forget we were still coming out of the global pandemic, which changed everyone’s life in one way or another.
But we did it. It took slightly longer than expected, but we now have Tony working with us on a weekly basis and everyone raves about him. He completes his tasks with a massive smile across his face and a wave, fist bump or handshake for everyone he interacts with, and don’t you dare try to ignore Tony, because he will stand there and smile at you until you acknowledge him, and you just can’t help smiling back at him.
When we created Paragon Ignite, it genuinely was all about giving people an opportunity to be successful. I never thought that we would be deemed ‘trailblazers’, or any of the other things we have been called by professionals who have worked with people with autism, who said this would never be possible. It is possible, and I am so very proud that as a business we took the time to ensure we had everything in place to make this work. In particular, Tony has a fantastic team of people, including his mum, working in his best interests, and I’m delighted we have been able to help him take this opportunity.
Lee Bennett, Learning & Development Business Partner, Paragon Customer Communications
