CAREER
We all have labels handed out to us. I have no problem with this as I apply them to those passing by when I am people-watching.
As the time this website was created, some of the labels applied to me were: Disabled Person... Cerebral Palsy Grade 4... Liverpool FC Disabled Supporters
Association member... but the best label of all is this one: Performance Analyst. Period.
No caveats relating to my disability are required, I do the same job as my able-bodied predecessor. To my colleagues I am just one of the lads. To my employer
and, most importantly, to the customer I am judged purely on my output.
This is not something I think of constantly you understand - rarely do I analyse the situation in this much detail. I just think of myself as "me". All I feel is a sense
of enjoyment and fulfilment.
It would have been far more difficult for all this to have happened without the assistance I have received from the Access to Work Scheme. It has funded the
unique keyboards that enable me to type as rapidly as possible using my toes. It also assists with transport to and from work plus a Support Worker who visits
twice a day (90 minutes in total) to attend to my personal needs.
Having graduated from college in 1986 with an HNC (Distinction) in Computer Studies I felt I had much to offer the local Business World. The problem was they
only seemed to see long lists of potential problems if they employed me.
It was soul-destroying to receive so many rejections to my job applications.
I never gave up but naturally there were times when I wondered whether anyone would ever take me on. In March 1989 my persistance finally bore fruit when I
began working for a large employer that was based in my home town. Access to Work paid for a set of 8 footswitches which enabled me to use the company's
computer systems.
Undoubtedly I was assisted in gaining employment by the Supported Placement Scheme which today is operated by the Employment Service. This meant my
employers only had to pay the proportion of my wages which matched what was judged to be my lesser output when compared to an able-bodied member of
staff while the government contributed the remainder. Initially the ratio was set at 40-60.
The company agreed to employee me only if I worked from home. The Access to Work people were excellent, they paid for an Office to be set up in my study but
it was the last thing I wanted. I was keen to get out, meet people and generally be in the thick of things. I was worried about being isolated and cut off.
Also, as it took considerably longer than expected to resolve the technical challenges involved in connecting my computer at home to the mainframe of my new
employer I was restricted in the type of work I could perform - hard to believe in today’s interconnected world but this was long before the internet became an
integral part of our lives. Therefore, I was constrained to entering details into a skills database which was one of the few systems within the IT Department which
was small enough to fit on the PC in my home office. My ambitions were far grander than being a data entry clerk!
However I kept these reservations to myself; after so many rejections I knew this was an opportunity that I couldn't afford to turn down. I pressed ahead with all
the enthusiasm I could muster as I was anxious to encourage my managers to invest the effort required to enable more interesting and challenging tasks to be
allocated to me.
After quite a few months the link to the mainframe was established and I was given programming assignments on the organisations' key Billing System which set
me on course to progress through the various grades of Computer Programmer as my experience built.
The following year I switched to a new team. They were pioneering a programming tool that was new to the company. As lots of discussion was required my
colleagues were keen for me to be in the office so that I could play my part in the brain-storming. Some of them offered to feed me lunch so I went in every
afternoon and all day on Wednesdays.
Gradually, as more people got to know me, the feeding rota expanded until it was so large that I was able to go into the office on a full-time basis.
I still log-in from home regularly if I have to work out of hours (I cannot be in the office alone as there would be no one to assist me in the event of a fire) or if a
minor ailment such as a cold means I require lots of personal attention. Thus Access to Work continue to supply equipment for both locations.
Back then, I was thrilled to be going into work so often! I got to know those around me and soon I was socialising with some of my new found friends outside of
work. It opened up a whole new world.
But in the mid-90's there was a major re-structuring which led to many members of the feeding rota taking Voluntary Redundancy. Fortunately the Access to
Work Scheme was now providing funding for Support Workers and I was able to arrange for local care agencies to send someone to provide assistance at
lunchtime. Although my colleagues had been excellent it was great to be independent of them. The Support Worker also visits mid-morning to take me to the loo.
There was another problem on the horizon. The 8 footswitches were fine for interacting with the primitive Mainframe User Interface however the company was
planning to introduce Windows-based systems. The question was posed: how would I use a mouse?
AbilityNet were contacted and they sent someone to perform an assessment. Not only did they recommend that I operate a mouse using a trackball, they also
suggested that I take my shoes off and use a giant keyboard with my toes.
Initially a PC Klng Keyboard was obtained. However, being designed for an Educational Environment, it didn't last long with constant use. Thus a set of custom-
built keyboards were commissioned. I specified the layout of the keys so that, when writing many common words, I would be able to use alternate feet. These
lasted 11 years before they were replaced in 2006 with a new sleeker design (pictured).
Using two toes to type meant there was no physical reason why I was not as productive as my fellow colleagues - many of whom type with two fingers.
By now the proportion of my wages which my employer contributed had risen to 80% - the maximum permissible under the Supported Placement Scheme. Due
to various issues regarding Head Counts it took some years before I was taken on to the host company's payroll. It finally happened in December 1996, over 10
years since I left college. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.
In 1999 a vacancy arose for a Performance Analyst/Capacity Planner. I had seen the job advertised on the noticeboard - it looked quite difficult! But when I was
asked if I would like to take up the role. I said I would give it a go - after all it meant a promotion.
After a few months of training from the person who I was replacing it was down to me to provide consultancy on matters concerning the Performance and Sizing
of the Mainframe which hosts the Billing Application on which I started work as a Junior Programmer all those years ago.
It is quite a key role - the client uses my reports as part of the process that leads to multi-million pound decisions being made - from which I get a great deal of
job satisfaction.
Such are the mechanisms of commerce, the company I originally joined has long since been taken over and I, along with the rest of the IT Department, have
been Outsourced.
To many people going out to work is a chore but for me it is a dream come true.
