Employment is Everyone’s Business – Looking to the Future

Tuesday 25 April saw the wrap up event for Employment is Everyone’s Business based in Wolverhampton. This has been a year-long project run by Wolverhampton City Council to support young people with additional needs to find paid employment.

Attendees included; Enable Supported Employment Service, Wolverhampton City Council Cleaning and Catering departments, YOO recruit, Wolverhampton Work Box, Tettenhall School, Social workers from both the 0-25 team and Adult Social Care teams, Commissioners and Case Workers from the Community Pathways Team. Chairing the event was Tom Denham, Head of Service for Adult Provision, Wolverhampton City Council, who said:

“Two years ago we drafted an action plan to tackle the lack of paid employment for people with disabilities. Although there was a lot of investment in employment at that time, there was not a growing number of people with disabilities in paid employment. This was put at the heart of the new plan.”

The project comprised working with Enable, Wolverhampton City Council’s Supported Employment Service to deliver support for people with disabilities in Wolverhampton to begin their journey into paid employment. Enable’s support includes but is not limited to; help with seeking jobs that are a “good fit” for each person, CV writing, interview training, job searching, help with the application process, approaching employers, assessing risks, post-employment support and job coaching.

Enable also introduced their Supported Internship service to Wolverhampton. This involves working with local colleges to conduct a year-long course – part work placement and part college attendance – to help students prepare for the world of employment. So far the internships have seen great success, with some students being taken on as a paid employees.

Presenting at the event were; Enable, Changing our Lives, YOO Recruit, Wolverhampton Work Box and Tettenhall School.

Changing our lives spoke about the Quality of Life review they had conducted on Enable which showed fantastic results. The review involved feedback from clients who had used Enable’s services and offered a positive insight into the support offered by Enable.

Going forward, Employment is Everyone’s business will continue work with Enable to establish disability employment in the city’s core employment offer; with an increase in the number of internships and a further review of the structure of apprenticeships.

The day ended with Tom Denham sending a clear message:

“Employment really is everyone’s business. It is crucial that we raise, as much as possible, the aspiration to work for young people.”
If you would like to refer to Enable Wolverhampton or if you would like to employ someone through Enable, please contact: 01902554040 or email: enablewolverhampton@shropshire.gov.uk