Skip to main content

Bath Employment Support School for Autism (BESSA) 2023

This free two-day event is for autistic students and graduates (with or without diagnosis) to get support with the transition from university to work.

  • 18 Sep 2023, 8.30am to 19 Sep 2023, 7.00pm BST (GMT +01:00)
  • University of Bath, University of Bath
  • This event is free
Two people walking in front of a modern building at night.
The Bath Employment Support School for Autism event supports students with the transition from university to work

This event will be available to join either in-person or remotely on Zoom. People have previously reported the in-person experience to be even more engaging and rewarding, so we recommend attending the event in-person if that’s possible.

The Bath Employment Support School for Autism (BESSA) is a free two-day event for autistic students or graduates (with or without a diagnosis).

It is open to students and graduates from the University of Bath, as well as other universities and higher education institutions.

BESSA aims to help with the transition from university to a range of opportunities such as:

  • internships
  • placements
  • graduate employment

The event is organised by the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) at the University of Bath, and JP Morgan (JPM).

If you're an autistic student or graduate (with or without a diagnosis), you can attend this event, where you'll get support and guidance for the transition from university to work.

For an in-depth look at the autism-related workshops and activities we run at Bath, read our case study.

Event schedule

This event takes place across two days.

Day 1 will take place at the University of Bath and Day 2 will take place at JP Morgan's Bournemouth Corporate Centre. Transport for Day 2 will leave from and return to our Bath campus.

Day 1: 18 September 2023

Location: 2.47, 10 West, University of Bath

This is a provisional schedule. Some details and timings may change.

Time Event Details
8:30am - 9am Registration and refreshments Maps and guidance will be provided
9am - 9:10am Welcome and introduction to BESSA We will welcome delegates and outline the plans and objectives for Day 1. Delivered by CAAR
9:10am - 9:25am Autistic and neurodiversity strengths An outline of autistic/neurodiverse strengths. Delivered by CAAR
9:30am - 10:45am Employment skills session 1 Finding the right job and company for you. Includes CV activity. Delivered by Careers Service
10:45am - 11am Tea and coffee break -
11am - 11:25am Disclosure and reasonable adjustments Delivered by AaA
11:30am - 12:25pm Employment skills session 2 Virtual recruitment and interviews. Delivered by Careers Service
12:30pm - 12:45pm Mentoring Delivered by Next Steps
12:45pm - 1pm Networking Delivered by Careers Service
1pm - 2pm Lunch break A catered lunch will be provided. During this time you will be able to network with employers and have your CV reviewed
2pm - 2:30pm Lived experience Talks from 2 autistic individuals
2:35pm - 3:35pm Talks for 4 autism-friendly organisations TBC
3:45pm - 4:15pm Autism @ Work Programme Delivered by JPMorgan
4:15pm - 4:45 Plenary Session Q+A for employers and summary of the key points of Day 1 and preparation for Day 2

Day 2: 19 September 2023

Location: JP Morgan Bournemouth Corporate Centre. Return travel from Bath to Bournemouth is provided.

This is a provisional schedule. Some details and timings may change. Refreshments will be provided on arrival.

Time Event Details
9:30am - 11:00am Travel together from Bath to Bournemouth Specific details will be provided nearer the time.
12pm - 12:15am Welcome and Introduction to BESSA Day 2 We will welcome all the participants and delegates to BESSA Day 2, and outline the plans and objectives for the day. Refreshments will be provided.
12:15pm - 12:45am JPM roles and job families Participants will be introduced to and gain an overview of roles and job families supported on the Bournemouth Campus. Participants will gain an insight into the programmes (graduate, internships and placements) available at JPM.
12:45pm - 1:15am Pathways into JPM Participants will be given an overview of the stages of job applications through to interviewing. There will be a discussion on interview preparation and techniques.
1:15pm - 2:15pm Lunch A catered lunch will be provided.
2:15pm - 3pm Site tour Participants will split into smaller groups and have a tour of the campus including high-performance workspace, dining facilities, social areas, atrium and surrounding green environment. The tours will be run by employees of JPM, some of whom are autistic, and they will share their experiences of working in the campus environment as part of the tour.
3pm - 3:30pm Diversity, equity and inclusion JPM will provide participants with an overview of these topics at the company.
3:30pm - 4:30pm A day in the life of a JPM employee Run by JPM autistic employees and a manager of an autistic employee, this session will provide an insight into what it is like to work at JPM when you are autistic. The employees will be from different lines of business, performing different roles and at different stages of their career. They will share their experiences on social aspects and team interactions, followed by an interactive question-and-answer opportunity.
4:30pm - 5pm Summary of Day 2 Key messages from the various sessions during the day will be highlighted.
5pm - 7pm (rough estimate) Travel back to Bath -

Apply to attend BESSA 2023

Apply for BESSA 2023

Location

Day 1 of this event will take place at the University of Bath (10 West). Travel for Day 2 at JP Morgan's Bournemouth Corporate Centre will leave from and return to our campus.


University of Bath University of Bath Claverton Down Bath BA2 7AY United Kingdom

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact us.