Training and Employment

This is a new and innovative project, initially funded for two years to May 2011 by Trust for London. This project is now funded by State Street Foundation.

The aims of the project are:

• To provide advocacy training that would enable trainees to find meaningful employment in advocacy or other related fields.
• To provide work placements and job search skills that would allow for confidence building and motivation, which would aid employment prospects.
• To change the attitudes of employers with regards to the employment of disabled people.

Traditionally disabled people tend to be in low grade and low paid jobs. This project is an attempt to challenge this and improve the quality of disabled peoples lives.

The project is in four phases:

• Phase One: is to recruit disabled people from the greater London area.
• Phase Two: Put the trainees through a 12 session course, to learn about disability history, the medical and social models of disability, disability legislation, local authority services, advocacy skills and principals and many more.
• Phase three: The trainees will be put on a 6-8 week work placement; current trainees will be placed at CHOICE IN HACKNEY, City and Hackney Primary Care Trust and the Carers Centre in Dalston.
• Phase Four: Once the trainees have successfully completed their placement, they will be given ongoing support to find employment.

We have now successfully completed 9 training courses, and as a result 28 people have now gone on to find employment, 5 have gone on to further education, and we have 8 people currently on their placements.

We are now recruiting for our tenth training course which will be starting in January. If you wish to attend, please contact us.