Equalities Toolkit - Disabled learners, as defined by the Equality Act 2010, and those who have special educational needs

EmployAble on BBC Points West

National Star College — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 17:53:46 +0000

The EmployAble programme received very good coverage on the BBC local news programme last night. It is available here for anyone wishing to see it. It will be available for the next 3 hours.

EmployAble in the media

National Star College — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 21:43:08 +0000

Attached is the press article to promote EmployAble to local employers in the Gloucestershire region. Published on 3rd April in the Gloucestershire Echo.

Bank holiday Monday 21st April EmployAble will be featured in the local news bulletin Points West. If you can listen again on the BBC iplayer please do.

EmployAble - Promoting work opportunities

National Star College — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 07:21:54 +0000

EmployAble banners have been printed to promote paid work opportunities for people with disabilities. These will be shown at the NIACE^definition regional events and at the national BASE conference in September.

Students have already received two offers of paid employment following the EmployAble business breakfast. last week. Those with experince of working in the Star Bistro have ben offered opportuiiinities to work as part of a corporate events catering and service team and one student is working at local restaurant.

EmployAble strikes a chord with employers

National Star College — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 13:23:44 +0000

A business breakfast launch attended by 24 local employers, keen to know more about National Star EmployAble programme, was a huge success. A presentation showcased the barriers to employment for people with disabilities and outlined how EmployAble would support employers to overcome these. A presentation by a local employer on the business benefits of employing disabled people was well received. A Job Mentor from the EmployAble programme talked about how employers could use the mentoring service to ensure employees learnt the right skills for each job offered. During the event we were able to play four video CV's from students seeking employment. Feedback found that employers really valued seeing these as it focussed very much on the person and not their disability. Before the event BBC radio Gloucestershire featured the event in the morning breakfast programme with interviews with an employer, trainee and project leader. During the event Gloucestershire Echo was able to interview attendees and photograph the event (to be posted when published). Overall this was a very successful engagement event with many new employers and employer networks involved in the EmployAble scheme. Attendees included; Gloucestershire Jobs, In2Print, Mitsubishi Motors, Gloucestershire County Council, Le Beaujolais restaurant, Burtons Kindergarten, Quality Assurance Agency, Federation of Small Businesses among many, many others. Our EmployAble team will be meeting with individual businesses over the next two weeks to arrange individual placements.

EmployAble - Student success

National Star College — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 12:21:05 +0000

La Beaujolais restaurant in Cirencester is working with the National Star's EmployAble scheme and supporting a learner with a disability through a six week training placement with the opportunity of paid employment. This will be our first placement success under the EmployAble scheme. Our EmployAble employer engagement event on Wednesday 26th March will bring together over 20 local employers to generate placement pledges for learners with disabilities under the EmployAble scheme.

EmployAble Business Breakfast

National Star College — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 14:20:17 +0000

Our first EmployAble employer engagement event is taking place on 26th March with over 20 local employers scheduled to attend. Presentations by trainees with disabilities, employers and the WorkAble audit team will make up the mornings presentations. This will be a pledge event where employers will sign up to the EmployAble scheme.

We are also offering free support audits through WorkAble to those who sign up to the scheme to enable workplaces and employees to become more disability confident.

We have filmed 8 of our 20 trainees for video CV's which we will also present at this event. A sample video CV will be posted here nearer the time of the event.

EmployAble - Video CV's

National Star College — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:52:05 +0000

20 trainees are now compiling video CV's with a film maker in preparation for a large employer engagement event in March as part of the EmployAble programme. Trainees talk about their skills and aspirations and are filmed completing tasks in their current work training placements. The aim is to show employers the levels of communication and practical work skills trainees with disabilities have in order to break down employer preconceptions of disability. An established employer forum consisting of three local employers is helping the project board recruit employers who are willing to offer job carved employment for trainees with disabilties.

Disability is not an obstacle to employment

South Thames College — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 09:27:20 +0000

The South Thames College project is aimed at creating work experience opportunities for learners with disabilities through local employers in south west London and then eventually towards the apprenticeship process. Our employer/learner seminars are set for the end of February 2014 and planning for them is well under way with identified learners being sent information about the project and invitations to either one of the seminars. Our Business Centre is contacting local employers. Our project's Assessment Manager Dan Simons has provided some very helpful information including an employer questionnaire focusing on issues related to recruitment, retention and work place adjustments in relation to potential employees with disabilities.

Our college planning team together with our seminar facilitator meet early in January to finalise the 'agenda' for our half day workshops.

Community Learning Innovation Fund 'Projects in a Box'

Dan Simons — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 16:33:31 +0000

The Community Learning Innovation Fund (CLIF) was a £4 million grants fund from the Skills Funding Agency, administered by NIACE^definition, which funded 96 community learning projects in 2012/13. The projects have now published 'Projects in a Box' listed at http://www.niace.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/clif/CLIF-Projects-2012-13-with-PIAB-links.doc. These include all the information and resources needed to replicate the project. They may be of particular interest to EDIF^definition projects because of their lessons learnt, and also for ideas on how to report on impact. Several of them had particularly strong equality objectives. For example:

Disability is no obstacle to employment

South Thames College — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 10:37:14 +0000

Hello again from South Thames College. In my previous Blog I briefly described our 2013/14 project based on the premise that disability is no obstacle to employment. We aim to encourage our learners who happen to be disabled or have a learning difficulty to be confident enough to apply and successfully attain an apprenticeship through work experience with local employers. At the same time we aim to support local employers by negating and removing the myths and perceptions surrounding the employment of people who have a disability. We plan to have the agreement of employers to organise work experience opportunities. So, we are in the process of organising 2 seminars at 2 of our college campus and inviting local employers and learners who will be interested in the apprenticeship scheme. We have dates arranged for the end of February 2014, a facilitator has been identified for both seminars and we are in the process of finalising the inviatation letter and questionnaire for employers. Then we will make personal contact with identified learners to establish their interest in work experience prior to applying for an apprenticeship scheme.

Ian Aldridge (project co-ordinator), email : [email protected]">[email protected] or telephone 0208 918 7482.