Ben Shepherd, 20, has secured a full-time role at Wilberforce Sixth Form College after the Motability Foundation funded driving lessons in an adapted car, giving him the independence to get to and from work
Ben Shepherd outside his new workplace with his adapted car(Image: Andy Bate Limited)
A Hull man with cerebral palsy who has this week landed a job at his local college says “life is just better” after a mobility charity helped him gain his independence with driving lessons and an adapted car. Ben Shepherd, 20, did an apprenticeship at Wilberforce Sixth Form College before securing a full-time role with the college this week, working with data and information as a Managed Information Systems assistant.
The Motability Foundation helped him access college, by giving him funding to take driving lessons. He was studying for a Diploma in Information Technology Systems when the charity stepped in to help. It is a charity which helps disabled people get from A to B by giving grants to individuals and organisations.
While studying at college, Ben received £1,750 in funding for 40 hours of driving lessons in an adapted vehicle. He then passed his driving test first-time in 2023, allowing him to easily get to and from college using his adapted Volkswagen Polo, leased to him as part of the Motability Scheme. His new role helps the college to examine the funding for students.
Talking about his journey, and the importance of being able to get around, Ben said: “Getting a Motability Foundation grant has made me feel free. I now have full independence. Without being able to drive, I wouldn’t be able to do my job, getting to the college and back. I have more confidence since being able to drive. I can do things I wasn’t able to do without my car – life is just better.”
Ben uses crutches to get around and uses hand controls to drive his vehicle. Whilst learning to drive, Ben studied ICT, with a focus on cyber security, before taking up an apprenticeship with the college in an admin role. Ben took up his new full-time role with the college on Monday.
“I moved into the department of Managed Information Systems, which looks at data and to make sure students are getting enough funding – I really enjoy it. It’s quite technical and a really niche job,” he said. “I hope to stay here and train-up to be an MIS officer with the college.”
Ben also picked up his second VW Polo recently, as part of the Motability Scheme, to keep enabling him to get to where he needs to go. The Motability Foundation funds, supports, researches and innovates so that all disabled people can make the journeys they choose. It oversees the Mobility Scheme and provides grants to help people use it, providing access to transport to hundreds of thousands of people a year. It also awards grants to other charities and organisations who provide different types of transport, or work towards making transport accessible.
CEO of the Motability Foundation, Nigel Fletcher, said: “Congratulations to Ben on securing his new role at Wilberforce Sixth Form College. His achievement highlights how access to transport can open doors to education, employment and greater independence. We know that transport remains one of the biggest barriers many disabled people face. That’s why we’re committed to supporting disabled people to make the journeys they choose, helping them access the opportunities that matter most to them. Ben’s journey is a fantastic example of what’s possible when those barriers are removed.”
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