Association of Apprentices: Helping neurodivergent apprentices thrive
A highly rated workshop developed into practical content and discussions about further learning.
Project snapshot
Client: Association of Apprentices
Sector: Charity, nonprofit and apprenticeships
Engagement: 60-minute apprentice workshop, guest article and follow-on learning discussions
Verified delivery: 20 March 2026
Audience: apprentices across roles and levels; Themes discussed included stress, burnout and practical tools
The brief
The relationship began with planning for a practical apprentice-facing session. The Association of Apprentices supplied a customisation brief for around 60 members, and Divergent Thinking also contributed a guest article for Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Positive engagement led to follow-on programme discussions, and in July 2026 the client secured two further apprentice workshops for 2027.
Apprentices may be navigating a new role, training requirements and workplace expectations at the same time. Neurodivergent apprentices need practical tools for understanding their strengths, asking for support and managing work without the programme treating them as a problem to be fixed.
The Association of Apprentices wanted a one-hour session suitable for a mixed apprentice community, supported by clear resources and aligned to safeguarding and accessibility requirements.
Why this matters
Neuroinclusive employability is not generic confidence training. People need practical tools for describing strengths, preparing examples, evaluating employers, discussing adjustments and understanding the conditions in which they can do good work.
Support also sits within a legal and operational context. GOV.UK guidance explains that reasonable adjustments can apply during recruitment as well as employment, while Acas stresses that support should not be withheld because someone lacks a diagnosis.
What Divergent Thinking delivered
Divergent Thinking delivered Neurodiversity 101: Thriving in Your Apprenticeship on 20 March 2026. The workshop covered terminology, common neurodivergent profiles, spiky strengths and needs, structure, clarity, distractions, asking for support, Access to Work and Association resources. Slides and a feedback route were shared afterwards.
The partnership also included a practical guest article for apprentices and those supporting them. Follow-on discussions translated feedback themes into future sessions on stress, burnout, overwhelm and smart tools; two 2027 workshops are now secured in the client’s diary.
The session offered multiple participation modes, practical examples and Q&A. The emphasis was on designing an apprenticeship around how an individual’s brain works, rather than waiting until difficulty escalates or requiring a diagnosis before support.
The delivery model reflected Divergent Thinking’s own practice: start with the real audience and context; combine evidence with neurodivergent lived experience; make participation accessible; and finish with actions people can use after the session. That helps the learning feel relevant without presenting one person’s experience as universal.
How the learning itself was made neuroinclusive
The session was designed to model the approach it described. Important concepts were introduced in a clear sequence, abstract points were connected to recognisable examples, and interaction was used as a route into thinking rather than a test of speed or confidence. Where follow-up materials were part of the brief, they gave participants another opportunity to process the content after the live session.
The facilitator also kept a deliberate distinction between common patterns and individual experience. Neurodivergent people are not interchangeable. Useful support begins with the person, the task and the environment, then asks what would make the work clearer or more workable. That is more responsible than turning a list of traits into assumptions about a colleague, student or client.
What the evidence shows
Available feedback was strongly positive about the session’s usefulness and delivery.
Most importantly, the relationship progressed beyond positive feedback: the client requested and secured two further workshops for 2027. That is verified commercial evidence of repeat confidence, not simply an expression of interest.
What the result means — and what it does not
Divergent Thinking can support an apprentice community with accessible learning, useful content and a pathway from one high-performing session into repeat programme delivery.
Evidence boundary: the feedback denominator, respondent count and exact speaker rating are not yet located. Future workshops are secured in the diary but not yet delivered. No retention, completion or apprenticeship-outcome KPI is claimed.
How to measure value beyond the session
Immediate ratings and quotations show whether the content was relevant and usable on the day. If an organisation needs stronger evidence for a strategy, procurement exercise or future investment decision, it should agree a short follow-up before delivery and collect only measures that connect to the intended behaviour.
Ask after 30–90 days which tools or changes people actually used.
Collect examples of clearer communication, meetings, feedback or support conversations.
Track use of agreed resources or adjustment routes without monitoring individual diagnoses.
Record process changes separately from awareness or satisfaction.
State the response count and denominator beside every percentage.
Practical ideas other organisations can use
The most transferable value is in the design choices behind the engagement. Organisations facing a similar challenge can begin with the following actions:
Help people prepare evidence-based stories about strengths and achievements.
Explain adjustment options before a crisis or failed process.
Teach candidates how to test an employer’s inclusion claims.
Give advisers questions that focus on barriers and workable support.
Measure later actions separately from immediate workshop satisfaction.
Planning something similar?
Divergent Thinking designs evidence-informed neurodiversity training and practical workplace programmes for employers, education providers, charities and professional communities. The work combines lived experience, applied neuroscience and accessible facilitation. Contact nat@divergentthinking.uk to discuss the audience, the real behaviour you want to change and the evidence worth collecting.
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