Dyslexic thinking skills are mission critical for protecting the country
It has often been said that dyslexics make brilliant spies, and today [29 April] we have opened up about the unique skills dyslexia brings to our mission to keep the UK safe.
In a new vodcast (video podcast) called the D.Spot, broadcast today, Jo Cavan, a senior GCHQ director, joins two dyslexic intelligence officers to explore the dyslexic strengths that make them ideal analysts for the modern era. Their strengths include pattern recognition when dealing with big data, seeing the bigger picture when considering complex future scenarios and finding solutions to novel and challenging problems.
Kate Griggs, Made By Dyslexia’s founder and the host of the D.Spot says:
“The impact of dyslexia on keeping us safe as a nation is rarely discussed. It’s fantastic to get such a candid insight into how spies who are made by dyslexia are able to use their dyslexic thinking skills to perform such important work.”
In the government’s recently published Integrated Review, it is clear that the Intelligence Services will be playing even more of a key role as warfare moves from tanks to cyber space. The analysts on the D.Spot explain how their dyslexia is a real secret weapon when it comes to protecting the UK and its citizens from harm.
Two active dyslexic members of staff, Charlotte and Rob, feature on the D.Spot – their real names are kept secret for security reasons. Charlotte, an intelligence analyst working in our 24/7 operations centre, explains:
“I’m often looking through a lot of data and I find that my dyslexia helps me to see the bigger picture and spot patterns that aren’t always obvious to everyone else around me. I also find that my approach to finding solutions is very different.”
Rob describes his role as a “transformational innovator” and works closely with Britain’s armed forces. He was deployed with the military in the Balkans and Iraq. He explains:
“I use my dyslexic skills to spot opportunities to do things differently. I speak to a lot of people internally who invent stuff and a lot of contacts in industry and explore how we could use our capabilities in ways that we’d never planned, often to deliver amazing effects.”
Speaking on the vodcast, Jo Cavan, GCHQ's Director of Strategy, Policy and Engagement, explains how we have a high proportion of dyslexic apprentices:
“We’re committed to recruiting people with dyslexia and other neurodiverse individuals into the organisation. We are about three or four times more likely to have apprentices with dyslexia than on other apprenticeship schemes. It’s mission critical for us, and since our inception we have looked to hire individuals who are neurodiverse, and as a result we have a thriving community of colleagues that think differently.”
The vodcast follows previous comments made by our director Jeremy Fleming, speaking at Made by Dyslexia’s Global Summit in 2019:
“We have 100 years of keeping the country safe. When I look at the things ordinary people have done that have ended up with extraordinary outcomes, then I can see people who think differently and I can see dyslexics in every one of those from 1919 through to the present day.”
You can subscribe to the D.Spot on Made By Dyslexia’s YouTube channel.
