Just 5% of people with a learning disability are in employment. Every time I read this statistic, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to have a job that I really like - and it’s only getting better!

I’ve just moved back into the Communications, Advocacy and Activism Directorate team at Mencap. I’ll be helping the team think about how they can engage people with a learning disability more effectively in their work. In fact, I’ve already started talking to team members about new ways they can make their work more inclusive and involve people with a learning disability.

Columnist Ciara Lawrence

I will be doing some external work as well, which I’m really looking forward to. I’ll be going to some external meetings and events to talk about Mencap’s work. I love being able to change people’s attitudes through personal conversations and speaking about my own experience of what it’s like to be a person with a learning disability.

Through this role, I’m also going to be developing skills so I can move towards more director level work, which will help me achieve my ultimate goal of leading an organisation like Mencap one day. I’m not the only one who has gained skills from my role at Mencap. My colleague Dean, who works on the Internal Communications team, has really improved his confidence during his time with the organisation. He told me: “I had no confidence at all when I started at Mencap 20 years ago, but they helped me massively by giving me skills such as conducting interviews, computer skills, presenting, making easy reads, and so much more.”

This new role is a long way from my first job doing admin at a local leisure centre.  I was working on reception but I wasn’t there for very long because I didn’t have the right support, which made the work very hard. My success at Mencap, since joining the charity in 2001, just shows that with the right support, I can have much higher ambitions. 

My colleague, Vijay, who works as a campaigns assistant at Mencap, also finds a lot of value from his work. He says: “Having a job means that I’m able to be part of a team that supports me when I need it, but also lets me be independent. My first job was terrible. It was at a pub and completely unsuited to my skills. I’m so much happier at Mencap.”

It was very important to me to find an employer that would value and support me, and where I could work hard and achieve my goals. My job at Mencap has also helped me to be independent: I have my own home, my own salary, and I have developed so much confidence. I want that for everyone else with a learning disability too. 

My dream is that when I retire, I’ll know that I went as high as I could in my career, and that I left an inspirational legacy for other people with a learning disability.

About Ciara Lawrence 
Ciara Lawrence is a well-known learning disability campaigner and a Shaw Trust Power 100 influencer. She has written for The Guardian, The Huffington Post, and The Independent. 

Search ‘Ciara’s pink sparkle podcast’ via Google.

There are currently 1.5 million people in the UK living with a learning disability, Mencap is here to help them live life to the fullest: www.mencap.org.uk