Employment & Training

  • Work programmes are working for long term sick and disabled people

    • More long term sick and disabled people are finding work, and getting into work faster – thanks to the Government’s Pathways to Work programme, which is now available across the whole of Great Britain.

      New findings show that taking part in a Pathways programme significantly increases the chances of long-term sick and disabled people finding work, with more people finding work more quickly than those who have not taken part in the scheme at all. The early success shows that Pathways to Work has a vital role to play in future welfare reforms.

       
  • Promoting diversity in the workplace makes business sense
    • Firms that take steps to improve diversity in the workplace earn real business benefits, a joint report from the CBI employers organisation and the Trades Union Congress suggests today
  • Workplace Health a Low Priority for Employers
    • Norwich Union Healthcare’s latest ‘Health of the Workplace’ report found that two thirds (64%) of businesses believe that employee wellbeing has a direct impact on the productivity levels of their workforce. However a third (33%) of employers don’t invest more due to a lack of Government incentives and a quarter (24%) don’t know where to access occupational health information – this rose to 43% among small businesses. The report is available on www.norwichunion.com/health/pr  
  • Increased WORKSTEP Payments
    • Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Peter Hain announced changes to WORKSTEP, a programme that helps disabled people find and retain paid employment. The changes will mean the sustained progression payment will be increased from £500 to £2000. Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People said "The aim of this move is to provide a better financial incentive for providers to progress customers into unsupported, independent work when they are able and ready to”.
  • Final Group of Pathways to Work Contracts
    • The DWP has announced the final group of organisations that will be operating Pathways to Work in the remaining Jobcentre Plus areas from April 2008 when the scheme will be in operation throughout England. The organisations involved are Carter & Carter Group, Instant Muscle, Reed in Partnership, Remploy, Royal British Legion, Shaw Trust, TNG and Working Links.
  • British Sign Language Courses in Cardiff
    • Deaf Association Wales has been successfully running British Sign Language courses for many years. Their programme includes taster sessions, 20 hour Introductory courses spread over 5 or 10 weeks and 40 hour, 20 week Foundation A/B courses.For further information contact Deaf Association Wales, 47 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0AD. Tel: 0845 1 302 851, Textphone: 0845 1 302 853 or paull@bda.org.uk
  • UK Commission for Employment & Skills
    • Liz Sayce, RADAR CEO, is among those appointed to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, established by the Government following the Leitch Report. This new Commission, comprised of high ranking members drawn from all business sectors, education and training, will operate across the UK and play a central role in raising the nation’s skills base, improving productivity and competitiveness, increasing employment and making a contribution to a fairer society.
  • New Horticultural Training Initiative
    • A new scheme for disabled Londoners has been announced by Thrive, the charity which promotes the benefits of gardening for disabled people. The new initiative, Working it Out, is a development and training scheme in horticultural skills which will reach some 50 participants each year from six inner London boroughs, providing a personal development and training programme over 12-24 months - and the opportunity to obtain an accredited vocational qualification in horticulture. Training will take place through work-shadowing and work experience placements in parks and community gardens, beginning at Thrive's Battersea Garden Project in Battersea Park. It will then extend to London parks, community gardens and green spaces through collaboration between Thrive, the London Parks and Green Spaces Forum, the London Borough of Wandsworth and LANTRA, the industry skills council. For information see www.thrive.org.uk

       

  • The First Year of Ready to Start
    • In its first 12 months, Ready to Start, run by Leonard Cheshire Disability, in partnership with Barclays, has supported 200 disabled people to start up their own business. Ready to Start offers disabled entrepreneurs free computer equipment and software, training courses tailored to their needs, start-up advice and  information about relevant trade bodies and business associations to help them network locally. Clients of the service are also paired with a business ‘buddy’, who will be on hand to offer support and help them overcome the common obstacles that people face when starting up a business. For information see www.leonard-cheshire.org/readytostart

       
  • Acupuncture Training for Blind People
    • The College for Traditional Acupuncture in Warwickshire are opening up their BA Hons courses to people who are blind and partially sighted following co-operation with the Royal National College for the Blind. The CTA is accredited by the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board and its degrees are validated by Oxford Brookes University. They are hoping to recruit now for an intake in March 2008. See www.cta-uk.net

       

  • Report on Disabled Staff in Lifelong Learning
    • A Commission set up by NIACE earlier this year on disabled staff in lifelong learning has published an interim report having received evidence from hundreds of disabled workers together with human resources and personnel staff and managers from the sector. It finds they have to cope not only with inaccessible surroundings but also with poor understanding and support from their employers and managers.The information collected suggests that there is a tendency for managers to focus on the problems facing individuals, rather than identifying the major institutional barriers which exist. “From Compliance to Culture Change: disabled people working in lifelong learning” is available from NIACE, see www.niace.org.uk
  • Dyslexia Awareness Training at Remploy
    • Four Remploy employment advisors have completed a dyslexia awareness course run by Adult Dyslexia Access. A further 15 will be trained in October to assess those candidates for dyslexia traits and identify suitable vocational areas as well as what reasonable adjustments they may need in the workplace to ensure that appropriate employment is achieved.
  • Developing Creative Employment Opportunities in London
    • Link Up is a flexible training programme run by Shape for deaf and disabled people in London who want to make a career in the creative industry. The programme includes Creative Industry Development Days, One to One Mentoring, Mentor Training, Business Seminars and Tailored Training for established groups. The programme is free with access and childcare costs covered. Contact the Link Up team on 020 7619 6165, minicom 020 7619 6161 or see www.shapearts.org.uk/link_up   
  • BTCV Horticultural Training
    • BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) provides Skills for Working Life Horticultural training to adults with learning disabilities and/or mental health problems at sites in Greater London. They would like to hear from any Day Care Centres or Service Providers that have green space and would be interested in BTCV providing a horticultural training course in house. They are also open to referrals for existing sites. For details, contact Jo Hooper on 0207 843 4282. More information on BTCV is available on www.btcv.org 
  • Keep Minds Working
    • Unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation, has teamed up with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust on a project in the North West to increase trade union reps’ awareness of mental health issues and help employers promote good practice. Briefings will help reps gain a fuller understanding of mental health and how their unions can ensure that members with mental health issues are treated fairly and given the correct service. The aim is to tackle some of the 420,000 cases of workplace-related stress, depression and anxiety reported in the UK each year. Mental ill health accounts for 40% of all Incapacity benefit claimants, with 66 out of every 10,000 workers suffering from it. Unionlearn aims to have 100 union reps briefed and trained in mental health awareness and 25 employers committed to awareness training by the end of 2007.
  • Action on Stigma
    • Shift is a five year initiative in England set up by the Department of Health to tackle stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health problems. It has just published the report of a listening exercise on ways in which employers can promote mental health and end discrimination in the workplace. Information on Shift and copies of the report, Action on Stigma, can be downloaded from www.shift.org.uk
  • Help for Employers to Boost their 'Disability Confidence'
    • A programme of events to support employers develop their awareness of disability issues and to help them take advantage of the advice and services available from Jobcentre Plus has been announced by Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire. Realising Potential is a partnership project between the National Employment Panel, the Employers' Forum on Disability and Jobcentre Plus. It is funded by the Government's Office for Disability Issues and forms part of a wider programme of engagement with employers on disability-related issues. The programme of 22 seminars will continue until March 2008.
  • New Study of Vocational Rehabilitation
    • A new vocational rehabilitation task group has been established by the Department of Work & Pensions to help ill or injured people stay in or return to work. The task group, made up of government, customers, business and insurers, will identify what services are currently available, why businesses do not provide more support, and what needs to be done to increase understanding and ensure wider provision of support services. The task group is part of the Government's Health Work and Well-being strategy. To find out more visit http://www.health-and-work.gov.uk/
  • New Strategy for Learning by People with Learning Disabilities
    • A cross government strategy to support people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to achieve fulfilling lives and further their education has been launched by the Department for Education and Skills, Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health. Progression through Partnership sets out plans for increased joint policy development, improvements in provision and services, and workforce performance, the development of joint evaluation and monitoring systems and specific activities around issues requiring immediate attention e.g. improved planning, looking at courses at local colleges, and day centres, and improving the quality of what is on offer. For further information see www.dfes.gov.uk
  • DWP Employ Ability Initiative
    • John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has announced a new initiative, 'Employ Ability', which will highlight the benefits of employing disabled people and dispel some of the myths. Employ Ability will be piloted in the four cities of Leeds, Bradford, Manchester and Liverpool from September before being rolled out nationally next year. Employ Ability will advise employers not only on best practice in recruiting disabled employees but also in retaining current employees who become disabled while in the job - this is necessary in order to prevent those employees from having to leave their job.