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Andy's story

Andy Adamson sustained a T5 complete spinal cord injury in August 2008. Prior to his injury he was a water engineer and he knew he wanted to "get back to work as soon as possible."

“Work was such an important part of my life before I had my injury – both the social side and the chance to engage my brain. I didn’t want to get too stale or forget how to operate in a working environment so I knew I wanted to return to work as soon as I could.

I went on the Back Up to Work Course to help me hone the skills I needed to find a job, such as improving my interview technique and writing my CV. I also wanted to hear from people with spinal cord injuries who were in employment to find out how they did it and what it was like. I met some really inspirational people who proved that it was possible and gave me the determination to do the same.

The course helped me identify some of the skills I had. For example, in previous jobs I had been able to speak to people from all walks of life and get on with them, but this wasn’t a skill I had ever thought to put on my CV. The course helped me to sell myself more in that way.

I started volunteering in the Back Up office which boosted my confidence. Then, after a few months, I started volunteering with the Olympic Delivery Authority too. After five months I successfully applied for the paid role of Visits Co-ordinator,– taking stakeholders and members of the public on bus tours of the Olympic site. The role was later expanded and I’m now working full-time and enjoying every minute of it. I couldn’t have done it without Back Up though!”