Inclusive Employment service reaches key milestone – helping over 250 people with learning disabilities and/autism find jobs
We’re delighted to share that our Inclusive Employment service has supported over 250 people with learning disabilities and/or autism to achieve paid employment in just three years.
ECL’s Inclusive Employment service was established in partnership with Essex County Council under the LIVE (Learning, Innovation, Volunteering and Employment) umbrella to help adults with learning disabilities and autism to achieve their dreams of paid employment, while also changing employers’ attitudes towards inclusive recruitment.
Launched in April 2020, the service has reached the milestone of supporting 255 people to seek paid and a further 45 voluntary positions with local businesses.
To date ECL’s Inclusive Employment service has achieved 255 successful employment outcomes. Of these, 112 of those have transitioned directly from day services. ECL has facilitated more than 6,200 job applications, 940 interviews and 166 work trials. In addition to working closely with the Essex business community to encourage more companies to become disability confident employers.
Sue Wray, ECL Inclusive Employment Business Manager said: “This is a wonderful milestone for our service and an excellent example of what commissioners and providers can achieve when they work together to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and/or autism. Our service was launched in direct response to feedback from the young people and adults who attended our day centres and those leaving education and wished to find meaningful, paid employment. In partnership with Essex County Council, we’ve developed a service that offers good quality support and training to help them reach their achieve their ambitions of paid employment and make the transition to work as smooth and enjoyable as possible.”
One of ECL’s Inclusive Employment success stories is Sarah, a disarming 26-year-old lady who loves art, cooking, and West Ham United football club. Sarah lives with profound deafness and autism, and prior to attaining paid employment, she attended a day service at ECL Chelmsford four days a week, where she undertook work-based training to hone her catering skills.
With her training under her belt, she was keen to get a paid job in catering, and ECL’s Inclusive Employment team helped her find her ideal job.
ECL Inclusive Employment Consultant Caroline Giess approached The Lion Inn, in Boreham who she knew has a very inclusive stance to find out if they would have a position for Sarah. The Lion Inn were open to finding out more about Sarah and offered her a work trial.
General Manager, Leighanne Ship, commented, “It was clear during the work trial that Sarah’s knowledge of food hygiene was sound, and her knife skills were excellent. In fact, she is too skilled for a kitchen porter role, so we offered her a job as a Prep Chef, working 15 hours a week.”
Sarah was very excited to start her job, supported by ECL Inclusive Employment Job Coach Linda Thompson, who helped her settle into her role, guiding her through the onboarding process and the e-learning. Sarah picked the job up extremely quickly, and Linda could soon take a step back, but continuing her regular sustainment checks with Sarah and Leighanne and being on hand should any concerns arise for either party.
Sarah is fortunate to have the crucial assistance of a BSL interpreter provided by the Royal Association for the Deaf at every shift. They facilitate the essential day-to-day conversation in the workplace and communication between the Lion Inn and Sarah’s mum.
When we asked how Sarah felt about working at The Lion Inn, she signed, “I am so happy. I feel part of a team, have made new friends, and now have my own money and bank account!”
ECL’s specialist Inclusive Employment team matches talented individuals to meet the needs of the business, creating a successful working relationship that enables the candidate to develop their skills and achieve their goal of becoming more independent. ECL provides on-the-job coaching and mentoring for as long as is needed to ensure that both the individual and the employer have the best experience.
For more information, click to read more about ECL Inclusive Employment.
View Sarah’s story:
Full film: https://youtu.be/AUP9oJtJ-8I
Social cut: https://youtu.be/7SaDl9EpPDQ
See the employer’s perspective:
Full film: https://youtu.be/sznUBVqHu8Y
Social cut: https://youtu.be/7ZuSfUu_cJc
“This is a wonderful milestone for our service and an excellent example of what commissioners and providers can achieve when they work together to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and/or autism. Our service was launched in direct response to feedback from the young people and adults who attended our day centres and those leaving education and wished to find meaningful, paid employment. In partnership with Essex County Council, we’ve developed a service that offers good quality support and training to help them reach their achieve their ambitions of paid employment and make the transition to work as smooth and enjoyable as possible.”
