Daniel’s Story – Building Confidence and a Career in the Library Service

Daniel joined the Inspiring Futures Programme after spending a year out of work. He chose to use that time to focus on rebuilding his mental health following a difficult work experience that had knocked his confidence. As someone on the autism spectrum, Dan needed space to recover and carefully consider his next steps. 

When he joined the programme, Dan wasn’t entirely sure where his career path would lead, but he knew one thing: his ideal role would be working in a library. At the time, it felt like a distant dream. 

Henry, Dan’s Supported Employment Specialist, worked closely with him to prepare for job opportunities. Together they built a strong rapport and understanding through the Vocational Profile, which explores each participant’s preferences, previous work experience, interview comfort, and mental and physical health needs. This helps ensure job searches are aligned with roles that genuinely fit the individual. For Dan, it became clear that quiet, structured environments suited him best. 

Using this insight, Henry and Dan worked together to update Dan’s CV with the relevant skills and qualities, providing a helpful reference point to revisit whenever Dan felt anxious about his progress. They searched for roles together, giving Dan both supported and independent job-search time to build his confidence. 

When a library assistant position became available in Dan’s local area of Poynton, Henry spotted the vacancy on Indeed, when specifically looking for library opportunities for Dan. It seemed like the perfect fit. 

To help Dan prepare, Henry arranged mock interviews with a colleague at Fedcap to practise typical questions and build his confidence. They visited the library in advance, allowing Dan to familiarise himself with the environment before the real interview. Recognising the importance of reasonable adjustments, Henry emailed the hiring manager (cc’ing Dan) to request the interview questions in advance – an adjustment that helped Dan feel more comfortable and prepared. 

This personalised preparation paid off, despite this being Dan’s first formal interview, he performed brilliantly and was offered the role as a Casual Library Assistant. 

Since then, Dan has flourished. He’s been working regular shifts at Poynton Library, doing exactly what he hoped to do. Before starting, Henry and Dan also explored volunteering opportunities together and visited Space4Autism, where Dan began volunteering to ease himself back into a working routine. Even after starting paid work, Dan continued volunteering there, balancing both roles and gaining experience in different community-focused environments. 

As Dan settled into his library role, he and Henry continued to have regular contact as part of his in-work-support. During one of their meetings, they discussed some challenges Dan was having within the role, around “baby rhyme time” sessions – a social part of the job that initially felt daunting. Henry supported Dan to write an email to his manager, requesting to pause participation in these sessions while he built confidence and received additional support. 

Dan’s dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed. His manager, recognising his commitment, told him about additional hours at nearby libraries and offered to recommend him to other managers. He has since started assisting at Macclesfield Library and continues to meet regularly with Henry for in-work support. Dan has now applied for a full-time permanent position within the library service and is excited for his future prospects. 

Speaking to Dan about his time on the programme, he shared: 

“The Inspiring Futures programme has truly helped me. I didn’t have a lot of expectations, but I had hopes, and the programme has fulfilled those hopes. I’ve secured a job and gained confidence I didn’t have before. When I started, I didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed. 

“I always tell people about Fedcap because it just works. I almost can’t believe it exists, and I wish there were more programmes like Inspiring Futures. I’ve become almost evangelistic, because it has made such a huge difference. It’s what councils should be doing. I’ve been lucky to get what I wanted.”