Ground-breaking charity launches to help people affected by chronic illness find a sense of normality through flexible employment.
A new UK charity, ASTRiiD (Available Skills for Training, Refreshing, Improvement, Innovation and Development) is giving talented people living with long-term illness the chance to boost their self-worth and regain control of their lives by providing meaningful employment and volunteering opportunities.
Through its online matchmaking service – the first-of-its-kind in the UK, ASTRiiD aims to connect the millions of people with chronic, often incurable and advanced health conditions with businesses seeking skilled volunteers or staff.
After becoming a registered charity in January 2018, ASTRiiD has attracted more than 300 members boasting a variety of skills. The unique community is inclusive to people with any health problem or disability, and their care-givers.
Nearly 100 companies have registered nationwide ranging from NHS Trusts to world-leading engineering consultancy firms, with businesses of all sizes and sectors invited to sign up. Advertised jobs span general management, operations and finance, board level, legal services, people management and many more.
The charity’s concept was pioneered by former Royal Navy commander and business champion, David Shutts OBE, after he was diagnosed with inoperable stage four kidney cancer – a blow he received 10 days after his 50th birthday.
Forced to give up his responsibilities as regional director for a national business organisation to undergo treatment, David, from South Lincolnshire became aware of the true value of work. He said: “I’m a pretty confident person – I had a hectic social life, deadlines to meet and a family to care for but suddenly I stopped being all of those things and became David Shutts, cancer patient. I realised how much work offers in terms of self-worth, self-esteem and social interaction and that millions of others must feel the same; missing the normality, challenges and rewards that only work can bring – much more than financial reward.”
Utilising his broad skills, when David’s health improved slightly he pursued temporary posts working as an exam invigilator and teaching at a local school. “It took me a while to believe it, but I was still all of the things I’d been before. Cancer hadn’t invalidated my professionalism or experience, I was still ambitious and capable of making a great contribution,” he added.
Coining the term ‘invisible talent pool’ – referring to the community of highly-skilled people with long-term illness who have dipped under the employment radar, David sought to help others in his situation. With help from his best friend and former naval colleague, Simon Short – now Executive Vice President, Customer Success and Growth EMEA at Salesforce, the global leader in customer relationship management, David launched ASTRiiD. Together they strived to harness the skills of the invisible talent pool and help businesses plug the UK skills gap.
David said: “Working gave me a sense of accomplishment. I started to feel more positive about the battle that lay ahead and welcomed a distraction from the day-to-day challenges posed by ill health – it was the catalyst for changing my mindset and inspiration. For so long talented people with long-term illness have been invisible to employers and companies offering suitable employment opportunities invisible to them. It was time to make the invisible visible.”
Through ASTRiiD, David is forging relationships with high profile organisations and complementary charities, to help more people into employment.
Ceinwen Giles, director at Shine Cancer Support, which has established a partnership with ASTRiiD said: “The core demographic of our members is those of working age. Before getting their diagnosis, most thought they’d be working for another 30 to 40 years. To then be told you might have to give up your job because of cancer raises a lot of questions – how will I pay my bills, can I still have a career, will employers still want me if I undergo chemo? And it’s not just that immediate impact of a diagnosis, but the long-term effects on daily life, such as fatigue, causing concern too.
“Our own research shows that cancer patients hoping to go back to work express a need for some support or adjustments to help make the return successful. And with over half of people feeling they’re unable to work in the same way as before their illness, this really highlights just how important ASTRiiD and its role in providing a new route to inclusive employment is.”
For more information, to register or donate, visit www.astriid.org.uk and join the conversation using #InvisibleTalentPool on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About ASTRiiD
ASTRiiD is giving talented people living with long-term illness the chance to boost their self-worth and regain control of their lives by providing meaningful employment and volunteering opportunities.
Through its online matchmaking service – the first-of-its-kind in the UK, ASTRiiD aims to connect the millions of people with chronic, often incurable and advanced health conditions with businesses seeking skilled volunteers or staff.
After becoming a registered charity in January 2018, hundreds of members boasting a variety of skills have joined the unique community, which is inclusive to people with any health problem or disability – from cancer, MS or arthritis to sight loss, heart disease or recovery from stroke, and their care-givers.
Companies of all sizes and sectors are invited to sign up, with nationwide organisations ranging from NHS Trusts to world-leading engineering consultancy firms, already benefiting from ASTRiiD’s new route to recruitment. Advertised jobs span general management, operations and finance, board level, legal services, people management and many more – no project or permanent position being too big or small.
