> But I like stats ML and data so I'd love to try for that.

Building some reputation on an ML/AI/Data site like Kaggle might be helpful to get noticed.

https://www.timpson-group.co.uk/timpson-foundation/ex-offend... Timpson's have a very strong reputation for offerening employment to marginalized groups. I'm sure they have a back office operation that drives the shoe repair and key cutting shops so they may be worth investigating.