Meet Oliver, one of our Manufacturing apprentices
My name is Oliver Massey and I am a Manufacturing Technician within Packing at Macclesfield. I have a form of high functioning Autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome. A teacher noticed that I interacted with others differently compared to my peers. The teacher and my parents both agreed that I should be tested for Autism, and I was eventually diagnosed.
It’s really important for anyone, with Autism, to get diagnosed as soon as possible because once your diagnosed, you can start to receive the correct support either within education or within the workplace. Being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome towards the end of primary school, I was able to go through school and receive additional support which I felt became more necessary as I progressed through education.
I am now an apprentice within manufacturing at the Macclesfield site. One thing that I like about the support that I have received, is the access everyone has to the Neurodiversity Employee Resource Group (ERG). Through this I have not only been able to talk about my Autism, but I have also been able to learn about other Neurodivergent conditions. The Neurodiversity ERG meets frequently and discusses topics around Neurodiversity. It’s there to support people with Neurodiversity, and for people who want to learn about different conditions. I was able to work with the group to discuss what support I may need within the workplace. This helped me to ask for the right support from my managers. I’ve always felt that they have been there as a contact if I ever wanted to discuss anything regarding my Autism.
It has been challenging settling into new environments, but, through working with different teams and various areas I notice within myself, that my social development has improved so much during my time at AstraZeneca. As someone with Autism I think it is really important to push my boundaries. Doing new things that aren’t routine, as someone who is Autistic, is often very challenging and stressful, but I’ve found it’s important to constantly challenge those boundaries.
Having started with AstraZeneca in September of last year, I found the amount of change to be challenging. But, because I previously have challenged and changed my routine, I was able to establish a really good every day at work. Now if there are times where I need to do new things, feel considerably more confident to embrace the change.
Throughout the company there is a culture to promote diversity and inclusion. I have seen this through the Power of Diversity week and the way that diversity is collectively celebrated and embraced throughout.
