A skills centre for people with learning disabilities and autism has opened.

The Skills and Friendship Exchange - SAFE - was founded by Thom Cox.

The 42-year-old grew up in the island but moved away for a while and worked for Autism Initiatives when he returned two and a half years ago.

’The idea came from my dad, as he’s got Parkinson’s and is a retired mechanic and the idea was to help retirees, so they could feel useful again,’ he said. ’Because I’ve worked with autism and learning disabilities for so long in health and social care, I thought I’d tie it in with that.

’I’m a joiner as well, so I’m kind of putting all my skills together in one place to hopefully offer people a chance to move forward.’

Mr Cox said that he had seen people during his time at Autism Initiatives who weren’t utilising their skills and so wanted to give them a chance to be more productive.

’I thought I’d just go for it and so far it’s a slow burn but people are starting to be more aware of what’s going on.’

SAFE offers skills in woodwork, plastering and general maintenance.

It also has self-esteem groups and confidence building sessions.

Mr Cox said that he started the business with the Department for Enterprise small business scheme last year and then due to the lockdown in January, was unable to open when planned.

’Skilled, retired tradespeople and people with health and social care backgrounds come to help out,’ he said.

’It’s about teaching people not only life skills, but we also have a social enterprise going on too as we will be sociable and work on self-esteem building.

’There’s a 19-year-old who has a lack of confidence which prevents him from applying for jobs. Even calling about a job is a struggle for him and we try and help break down the confidence barriers.’

Mr Cox said that SAFE is a paid service but that it might become a charity in future.

’Starting a charity is hard work - I’ve seen my brother do it and he struggled for years to start a charity, he’s quite successful now with his but I needed a consistent workshop that’s open every day,’ he said.

’I open up in the mornings for service users. One [service user] really loves being in the workshop, another doesn’t like the workshop but is more about building confidence and gaining work experience.

’Today, we’ve managed to get him to speak to owners of nurseries and talk about voluntary work for them next week,’ he added.

Mr Cox said that he’s working on the building.

’There’s a classroom where we design things and have get togethers. We have Lego Club on Saturdays 10am until 1pm that’s for all ages, and the exchange is evolving every month, as we’re doing something different all the time. It works for us at the minute.

’We want people to come and have a look at SAFE and talk to us about it.’

The exchange is at Unit KC, Balthane Industrial Estate, Ballasalla.

Mr Cox says anyone who wants to join SAFE can contact him via email at [email protected] or by phoning 354759.