“It means I can do anything”: Lancaster neurodivergent teen recognised by BAE.

“There was a load of old men in black suits, and then my mum in a yellow dress, standing up and cheering…”

Moments earlier, Amber Laing, a 16-year-old autistic sixth form student from Lancaster, had been announced as the winner of BAEs Future apprentice of the year, celebrating neurodiverse talent.

Now, a few months on, sitting beside her mum in the family home office, she smiles as she talks about that night.

“When I heard my name, it was almost like a relief, I was so happy to have won.

“It felt like a huge accomplishment because I didn’t think I could win.

“My mum was the only one that was cheering,

“So, I just felt really proud and supported.”

The Future apprentice of the year awards (FAOTY), organised by Targetjobs, was held earlier this year, in February, for the first time.

They were designed to recognise and reward talented 16-18-year-olds considering apprenticeship routes within STEM.

The awards featured six key categories, which focused on talent; social mobility; and diversity; in partnership with major employers.

Amber’s category, in which she won, was to recognise ‘ambitious, creative students who think differently and make things happen.’

The ceremony was held in the iconic Concorde Centre in Manchester, with short-listed applicants from across the country invited to attend with a parent or carer.

According to BAE, who recruit around 1000 apprentices a year:

“Diversity of thought fuels Innovation”.

During the shortlisting process, applicants were asked three questions to reflect on; the strengths of their neurodivergence, lessons that changed their perspectives, and how they would create inclusive workplaces.

Amber spoke about how she enjoyed the application process:

“It was looking at all the positives, it made me feel proud just filling out the form.”

For Amber, who’s autistic and dyslexic, recognition for her strengths hasn’t always come easily.

She found the transition from high school into sixth form was very hard and had to make the difficult decision to drop one of her a-level subjects.

“I don’t think I got the right support at the start of the year, I’m not 100% sure where it might’ve gone wrong,

“But I think it’s the masking and internalising.

“Because I’m not crying, or kicking off, or sitting with my hands over my ears it’s easy to gloss over.

“Sometimes I can’t articulate what help I need, so I think things can go a bit hidden, which then affects my self-confidence and ability to learn because I’m feeling overwhelmed, or stressed, or anxious.”

According to the National Autistic Society; many autistic young women become skilled at ‘masking’ traits in academic settings, which can delay support and negatively impact mental health.

Amber reaffirmed this and said:

“I think because autistic girls have such different traits to autistic boys, they can get overlooked easily.

“They can be experts at masking.”

Despite her struggles, she’s continued to persevere, and was recently awarded an A* for her EPQ project on ‘How camouflaging affects autistic teenagers’ mental health’.

Whilst talking about her evening at the FAOTY awards, she reminisces on sipping on ombre-coloured mocktails whilst dining under the Concorde, packets of Candy kitten sweets scattered across the tables – something she found particularly fun, as award presenter Jamie Laing joked the pair could be “distant cousins” because they shared the same surname.

After a small chuckle, she explained how the formality of the evening was slightly intimidating, with networking tables; a room full of industry professionals; and tables full of fellow short listers.

But, by the end of the night, the event had positively impacted the way she viewed herself, and her neurodivergence:

“It was really neuro-affirming,

“It means I can do anything.”

Amber’s mum, Janice, weighed in:

“It was just really nice to have that positive affirmation about what you can bring to the table as an autistic person, after going through such a difficult time.”

When it comes to barriers that autistic girls face, Amber believes confidence is one of the biggest, and thinks neurodivergent students need more encouragement to access opportunities:

“It’s hard to take the first step, but it definitely does make you more confident once you do good in it.

“But if you’re not proactive, or don’t have the support to access opportunities and look at them, no one follows it up and says, ‘oh have you seen this, you’d be great, do you need any support with it?’.

“I think neurodivergent people have a lot of secret talents,

“They should be given opportunities to shine.”

Representation for girls within engineering remains limited, with girls accounting for just 17% of engineering and technology apprenticeship starts in the UK, and women making up just 16.5% of the workforce.

The percentage of women and girls, who identify as neurodivergent, working within STEM is unknown.

For Amber, and other neurodivergent girls, opportunities like FAOTY are important, as they focus on recognising and rewarding strengths that are sometimes over-looked.

Her advice for future applicants is simple:

“Just apply, even if you don’t get shortlisted, the application process is something you can always learn from.

“So do the opportunity, take it, you might as well.”