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Supported Employment pilot is just the beginning

A pilot scheme run between Affinity Trust and Reading Borough Council to embrace job carving – offering paid employment to 10 people with learning disabilities – is proving to be a success in the Southern region.

The job carving pilot, which will involve 10 people by the end of 2009, is being run through Affinity Trust’s supported employment service CONTACT. Job carving is an innovative approach which works with employers to identify tasks within existing jobs roles, which can be undertaken by someone with learning disabilities. Often several existing roles have tasks ‘carved’ from them to create a specific role for someone with learning disabilities and in doing so free up time for employees to do other work.

Affinity Trust will support people to work in a range of Council departments in a wide selection of roles where they are able to use and develop their skills in such tasks as data entry, mailshots, archiving, filing, photocopying and cleaning.

Wendy Cadman, Supported Employment Advisor at CONTACT, said: “This has been the perfect opportunity to encourage joint-working, raising awareness of the skills and dedication that people with learning disabilities can offer.“

In November 2008 Reading Borough Council highlighted a need to increase the numbers of people with a learning disability in paid employment in the borough. As a major employer in the Reading area, the authority recognised the need to lead by example paving the way for the Affinity Trust pilot scheme to begin in January. The Council has also taken the opportunity to amend its recruitment and training procedures making them more accessible to those individuals needing more support.

Mike Orton, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Community Care, said: “It is important the Council leads by example to other employees in Reading by providing opportunities for people with learning disabilities. The Council is pleased that working in partnership with the Affinity Trust has led to more people gaining paid employment.”

Such is the success of the pilot that Affinity Trust has a bank of people waiting for job carving opportunities to arise in the area.
Janet Lightfoot has been supported by Affinity Trust for five years, she is in the process of being enrolled into the pilot after a period of volunteering at a Reading Borough Council-run day centre. Janet is a valued member of the team and she, and her colleagues, have been nominated for the prestigious Pride of Reading Award.

‘Work’ was the theme chosen for Learning Disability Week 2008 in an endeavour to raise the profile of the need to incorporate greater numbers of people with learning difficulties into mainstream employment.

Although increasing the number of adults with a learning disability in paid employment has been a national priority since 2001, it has been demonstrated that progress against this objective requires sustained effort. Employment was a priority identified in the Valuing People Now consultation issued at the end of 2007.

Philip Middlewood, Affinity Trust’s Development Director said: “Reading Borough Council has shown great commitment to employing people with learning disabilities and we hope that many more employers will do so. Everyone has something valuable to contribute and employers are increasingly recognising the positive contribution which the people we support can make to their business.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Affinity Trust (formerly known as Thames and Chiltern Trust, TACT) is a limited company registered in the UK that provides person-centred, innovative approaches to support people living in the UK with learning disabilities.
Affinity Trust supports more than 550 people throughout England and Scotland by delivering high-quality, tailored support that ranges from respite to Supported Employment opportunities.