Disabled graduates sample work at the CPS

Four young people were invited to undertake work experience at CPS London as part of the Civil Service FastStream Summer Development Programme.

They were drawn from a group of 45 graduates and students with disabilities taking part in the initiative, which is designed to help them to decide whether to join the Civil Services fast-stream proper in the future.

The four included 21-year-old Andrea Arulnayagam, left.

A law graduate from the Queen Mary University of London, Andrea worked as an administrative officer with the Barking/Dagenham Team, North & East Sector.

With ambitions to work in criminal law - she plans to study for an LPC - she has dyspraxia and visual dyslexia, which means she takes longer to process information.

She said her then line manager Anne-Marie Burnett-Charles catered for this by "being aware of my learning difficulty and understanding that I need extra time to do things".

The others who took part in the programme last year were, below, from left, Isabelle Straw, Glenn Harrison and Gareth Harvey.

Isabelle, 22, who has a visual impairment, is a student at the University of East Anglia, reading Psychosocial Sciences.

Keen to work at the CPS because of its reputation for championing equal opportunities, she was attached to the Area's Change and Programme Management Team.

While she found that the CPS catered for her needs "adequately" in terms of software and practical support, what really impressed her was the mentoring provided by her managers Helen Seddon and Elizabeth Joslin.

"They were truly exceptional and encouraged me to believe in myself," she said.

Gareth, 22, who is dyslexic, is a graduate in Business Studies from Bangor University, North Wales. Choosing the CPS because of an interest in business law, he found the Area's Secretariat staff "very accommodating", helping him with tasks such as proof-reading letters.

Now beginning an MBA course in General Management, Gareth said he might consider a future career with the CPS.

At 28, Glenn is an English Literature undergraduate, in his third year of study. He chose the CPS because he wanted experience that would develop "the kind of skill sets you associate with graduate employment". He plans to join the Civil Service fast-stream after university.

With mild dyslexia and dyspraxia, as well as Asperger's Syndrome, Glenn was based at Harrow, where he carried out a research-based project on West Sector's borough profiles.

All four said they felt the experience had been valuable to their development. As Glenn pointed out: "Unlike a lot of internships this was real work, which was fantastic."