waysintowork

National Supported Internships Day 2026

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:58:18 GMT

Employers urged to unlock ‘untapped talent’ through Supported Internships

On National Supported Internships Day - the 27th of March, we are urging employers to rethink traditional recruitment methods and unlock hidden talent through Supported Internships.

Supported Internships offer young people with special educational needs and disabilities the opportunity to gain real work experience while developing the skills and confidence needed for long-term employment.

Juan, who is currently taking part in a Supported Internship programme at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Heathrow Windsor, said:

“I enjoy the wide variety of jobs and experiences I get during my internship. All the staff are extremely friendly, and my Job Coach is very supportive - she’s always available if we need anything.”

Juan’s Mum, Amanda, said the experience has significantly increased her son’s confidence and independence, and helped him develop key employability skills such as timekeeping, organisation and initiative.

Amanda added: “From early on, the programme had a positive impact. My son quickly grew in confidence thanks to the strong support from work coaches, teaching staff and the hotel team. The structured settling-in process and the time given to become familiar with the workplace meant he felt prepared before starting job rotations.

“The most significant change has been his confidence and self-belief. He is now optimistic about his future and hopes to work full-time in a hotel kitchen and learn to drive. As a parent, I feel incredibly proud of him and grateful that he has been given the opportunity to start realising his potential.”

Nikki Bagnall, Human Resources Manager at Delta Hotels by Marriott Heathrow Windsor, said: “Juan has shown real commitment and enthusiasm, and has become a valued member of the team. He is punctual and helpful to everyone, and he even won ‘Intern of the Year’ at our 2025/26 awards last month. Supported Internships are a fantastic way for employers to identify talent that might otherwise be overlooked and the support we’ve received from Ways into Work’s job coaches has made it much easier to provide young people like Juan with meaningful work experience.”

Our CEO, Maurice George, said: “Inspiring stories like Juan’s show exactly why employers should view Supported Internships as a long-term investment in talent. The majority of barriers we encounter when speaking to businesses about inclusion are driven by fear - fear of getting it wrong, fear of saying the wrong thing or fear of legal complexity. But when employers lean into that uncertainty and ask for support, the results can be transformative for young people, their families and employers.

“Disabled people have ambition, agency and drive. When employers adapt their approach - even slightly - they open the door to committed and capable employees who might otherwise be overlooked. Inclusion doesn’t require perfection. It requires willingness. When employers are open to doing things slightly differently - such as making recruitment processes genuinely accessible and considering alternative assessment methods - everyone benefits.”

Stronger Together for Our Community

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Wed, 21 May 2025 20:08:46 GMT

Ways Into Work was a part of the recent CVS Slough event at Singh Sabha, where our colleague Rahma and Monica joined other incredible organisations, all working towards one shared goal: improving the wellbeing of our community. ��

A huge congratulations to Asma Aziz on her appointment as Chief Executive Officer of CVS Slough! Her inspiring leadership brought the event together, highlighting the power of unity and collaboration.

From meaningful discussions to a fun and thoughtful quiz session, we were able to share ideas, listen, and learn from others including Turning Point, Frimley Health, Youth Parliament, and many more.

It was truly energising to see how aligned we all are in our missions.��

Welcoming Tan Dhesi MP to WIW

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Wed, 21 May 2025 20:03:50 GMT

It was great to get a chance to talk to Tan Dhesi MP – Member of Parliament for Slough, on his recent visit to The Curve. He was very interested in the work we do and the positive impact it has supporting people with barriers to employment, into paid work. Our Charity successfully works with those most affected not only helping to ‘Get Britain Working’ but also meeting our mission of ‘Changing Lives One Job at a Time’. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with him to further benefit residents of Slough.

M&S supporting a young Intern again!

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 16:16:45 GMT

Watch Ashonte shine at the Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food store situated in Royal Berks Hospital! �� Our supported intern is confidently taking on new tasks every day, from restocking to serving customers on the tills. Ashonte's hard work and positive attitude are inspiring! ✨
A huge thank you to M&S, Royal Berks, who have supported many young people year after year. This year they are providing Ashonte with this amazing opportunity and once again helping us to break down the barriers for young people with a disability in gaining employment.

A huge thank you to Marks and Spencer's for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.
Want to see Ashonte in action? Click here to watch the inspiring video!

From Aspiration to Action

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 16:07:38 GMT

We’re thrilled to announce a fantastic milestone for our incredible intern, Tayyab, who has just secured a placement as an Assistant at Absolutely Karting in Maidenhead! �� Thanks to the unwavering support of @absolutelytogether and their belief in our Route to Recruit Supported Internship programme, Tayyab is now starting an exciting chapter as part of a dynamic team. ��️

In his new role, Tayyab will be interacting with customers, managing bookings, and assisting on the tracks as groups arrive. This opportunity marks the beginning of his journey from aspiration to action, and we couldn’t be prouder of his progress.

A huge thank you to Absolutely Together for their commitment to empowering young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.

A Successful Partnership

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 18:01:02 GMT

��Huge shout out to the fabulous Coppid Beech Hotel (part of the Nike Group) for supporting our Route to Recruit Supported Internship programme! Thanks to their support, our intern, Matthew, has secured a placement at the hotel. �� He’s now part of a small, supportive team of facilities/maintenance professionals. We are incredibly grateful for Coppid Beech Hotel’s commitment to supporting young people with barriers to employment by helping them develop the skills they need.

Exciting Milestone

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 15:09:37 GMT

Doubling Supported Internship Opportunities for Young People!

We are excited to announce that we've successfully hit the government target to double the number of internships available to young people and we plan to offer even more opportunities next year! Last year, we supported 15 interns who completed our internship programme, and this year, 34 young people have embarked on their journey with our Route to Recruit Supported Internship Programme .

We want to extend a massive ‘Good Luck’ to all the young people who have just starting on our Supported Internship programme – more news on their progress to come later and a huge thank you to all the employers we work with, who are just as passionate as us, at ‘ Changing Lives, One Job at a Time .’

Empowering Women’s Health

saanvi.goyal@waysintowork.com (Saanvi Goyal) — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 15:04:45 GMT

A Successful Partnership Event attended by Ways into Work to promote how having meaningful employment can positively impact health.

We are pleased to share that our Ability Slough team was invited to attend a Women’s Health Event at the Singh Saba Sports Centre in Slough. Organised by the Manor Park Medical Centre, this event focused specifically on women’s health and wellness.

As partners with the NHS , we offer Individual Placement Support in primary care, making this event an excellent opportunity to highlight the significant health and wellbeing benefits that come with being in paid employment.

Ability Slough offers FREE employment support for residents IN SL postcodes who have long-term health conditions, disabilities, or mental health challenges like anxiety or stress. Get help with CV writing, job applications, interview prep, and support in the workplace.

Sign up today!

Barista and Beyond – the Journey so far

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 14:10:40 GMT

Our Journey in Changing Lives One Job at a Time continues in our café, Barista & Beyond

Our Social Enterprise café, Barista & Beyond , opened up in November 2022. Set up to give people with disabilities a range of learning opportunities and experiences in the local hospitality sector, the Barista & Beyond team now welcomes customers daily from the Reading community, serving a variety of excellent drinks, sweet treats and savoury plates.

As a social and ethical enterprise, all café profits are used to support many more individuals with disabilities to gain meaningful employment. The mission is for Barista & Beyond Café to be a role model that can inspire other employers in the hospitality industry to provide supported employment opportunities too, with the aim to create a more diverse workforce that better represents communities in which we live.

Most importantly, Barista and Beyond seeks to break down the misconception that people with a disability are unable to work to the required standard – with a little support they can, and they prove to be totally loyal and committed employees. Barista & Beyond has helped many Ways into Work clients in gaining experience and confidence in the workplace. Our 18 year old intern Charlie joined us a few months ago and has already gained the skills he needs to secure a job in hospitality. Take a look at Charlie’s Story below.

“I am really proud of the team at Barista & Beyond and Ways into Work for creating a quality, independent café destination that the locality needs. This flagship initiative shows us how businesses can play their part in helping to change our society, changing lives for the better, one job at a time and through this café, one coffee at a time.”

- Jonathan Holley, Managing Director, Ways into Work

Click here to find out more about our Barista & Beyond café and be sure to visit us: 5 Alfred Street, Reading, RG1 7ATNew Paragraph

Client's journey to achieving her dream job

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 15:41:40 GMT

An incredible good news story from one of our clients, who explains how the support from us has changed her life and helped her get her dream job!

I have worked many years with Ways into Work since I was in college doing the life skills course. My first job was work experience in a day nursery and also part-time in Legoland working in food and beverage. With these experiences, I secured 25 hour a week paid employment in a day centre for adults with special needs. My work there included assisting with the different activity groups be it in music, art, sensory group, drama, or as a lunchtime assistant. I loved the work and I worked between two centres, one in Maidenhead and one in Windsor. I travelled independently to both as I don’t live near either. I loved the job, it taught me a lot about different people's needs, and the variety was great as no two days were the same. Sadly, when Covid-19 hit I was made redundant and once again I had to rethink my career choice. I had worked at Gap retail every Friday for a six-hour shift, so my customer skills were up to date.

I began with my job coach to search for new jobs, and eventually, I found some after a few interview refusals. I eventually secured employment at Zara retail store. However this was only seasonal work, I was so happy to start a job where I was meeting people and doing a role I felt familiar with and had knowledge of. After a few months, I was again unemployed and I felt I needed a more long-term career and I would like to work with children. After careful searching and discussion with my employment adviser I found out that if I did a child care course my employment opportunities would broaden in the area of child care.

A Client’s Employment Journey up to being awarded Employee of the year!

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 17:20:01 GMT

When Rajpal first became a client at Ways into Work he had been struggling with looking for work and a good job match. Rajpal has a mild learning disability and mental health issues and had not worked for over ten years except to help now and then at his family’s supermarket. He had not worked for such a long time as he was not well enough to think about his career and life choices.

When he joined Ways into Work as a Job Seeker and was assigned an Employment Coach who spent a long time getting to know him, doing a vocational profile and job matching. It was decided that the best first step was for Rajpal was to experience what different jobs and roles are like and what they would entail. Ways into Work then supported him in applying for various roles in retail and did mock interviews where he gained lots of practice. He secured a few interviews but was not offered any of the jobs.

Rajpal had begun taking an interest in going to the gym and informed his Employment Coach that he would like a job at the gym. After approaching the employer, his Employment Coach secured an interview for him. He was so happy that at the interview when asked why he would like to work at the gym, he pulled out of his pocket a handwritten lengthy list of reasons why he liked the job and the skills he had to offer. This showed the employer his passion for the job and Rajpal was offered the job, working 3 days (24 hours) a week to begin with.

As the leisure centre was 7 miles away, his Employment Coach supported him with applying for Access To Work transport to and from work. They also taught him and his parents how to claim his monthly ATW transport and supported him with the change of circumstances in his benefits.

When Rajpal first started to work at the Leisure Centre he solely worked in the gym and his role included ensuring that all the equipment was working and clean, as well as dealing with lots of customer enquiries. This was quite a challenge for Rajpal to begin with, as it was a large premise and no two days were the same. With Job Coaching , Ways into Work was able to support Rajpal by helping to create a routine for him and also discussing with his supervisor a way of building new tasks into his days as the weeks progressed.

A Supported Employment Journey until Retirement

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 09:56:36 GMT

We are so proud to have supported a client throughout her employment journey and up until her retirement!

On the 9 ^th of December one of our clients, Paula Hardy, had her retirement party! Her Employment Coach, Caroline Hood, and our General Strategic Manager, David Randall, attended her retirement party with her and the staff from Holyport College to celebrate her eight years at the college!

We have supported Paula throughout her employment journey as we began working with her in 2011. Paula has a learning disability and struggles to read and write so came to Ways into Work to receive support in finding employment. One of our Employment Coaches helped Paula to find a good job match and then supported her in applying for the role as a Laundry Assistant at Holyport College which she got in 2014! Holyport College have been a fantastic, supportive, and inclusive employer throughout Paula’s career. Employers like this can make such an important difference to someone who has a disability, or other employment barrier, and we are so pleased to work with them.

At Ways into Work, we provide a personal approach for each of our clients and work with their employers to help support them in the best way possible. One of the issues Paula faced was with reading so name labels were created and put on the lockers so that Paula could match the name on the item of clothing before putting it away. Her Employment Coach also supported Paula through Furlough and liaised between her and the college when she needed to reduce her hours more recently when her joints started becoming an issue. The college was more than happy to carve out her role to accommodate for this, rather than lose her, showing what a valued employee Paula has been! Over the years Paula has even helped to train new staff and always contributes toward good team morale.

The college has said:

“Paula started to work for the College when it opened in September 2014. However, there is much more to the story than that - when she was younger, she attended Holyport Manor School, the school which used to be on our site. In that sense, she's been here longer than any of us. She's also making history again today, as she is the first member of Holyport College staff to officially retire. Everyone is going to miss Paula, especially the boarders for whom she did so much. We all wish her a long and happy retirement.”

At her retirement party, Paula was presented with a reading pen from the college as well as flowers and was thanked for her hard work during her time at the college. She is pictured with her manager, Tony Nivas, and her Ways into Work Employment Coach, Caroline Hood at the party.

At Ways into Work, we are very proud of everything Paula has achieved and want to wish her a lovely retirement!

Wood to Work Partnership

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 14:36:07 GMT

Wood to Work is a partnership that was launched in October 2021, between us at Ways into Work , Oxford Wood Recycling and Oxfordshire Employment .

The aim of Wood to Work is to help individuals, in and around South Oxfordshire, who have various employment barriers due to their health or a disability, to enter the world of work. This includes supporting them in gaining permanent positions or work experience in a variety of industries including accounting, business, trade-based learning, administration, and many more.

Our Clients at Oxford Wood Recycling

Oxford Wood Recycling is a social enterprise based in Abingdon that specialises in recycled timber, building materials, and high-quality carpentry. Oxford Wood Recycling offers voluntary work experience to clients at Ways into Work in numerous work-related activities within their business. This helps to provide valuable experience for our Job Seekers CVs.

Our Senior Employment Coach completes a vocational profile for each of the volunteers to identify their strengths, areas of development, and career aspirations to help determine the most valuable work experience at Oxford Wood Recycling which ranges from woodwork to customer service experience. The Senior Employment Coach then ensures everyone on the program receives an induction, health and safety training, and the relevant PPE for the wood shop environment. We then continue to provide workplace support once our clients have started their work experience and will assist with job coaching, creating or updating CVs and job applications for when they finish their work here.

As of May 2022, there are currently eight volunteers on this programme who are completing valuable work experience with Oxford Wood Recycling. Several clients have now secured paid employment and are due to start in the coming months showing the huge success of this partnership and the hard work of our clients!

Our Managing Director, Becky Lawson stated that:

“We are delighted to be working alongside Oxfordshire Employment and Oxford Wood Recycling on this exciting new venture. We’ve long been working in Berkshire and Hampshire delivering supported employment and supported internships, and this project marks not only our first steps in Oxfordshire but our first collaboration directly with two very different and very successful supported business models. We are really excited about the opportunity this partnership brings to grow our collective impact and change even more lives one job at a time across Oxfordshire country.”

Mental Health Support in the Workplace

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Fri, 13 May 2022 12:47:28 GMT

WHO explains that mental health conditions are increasing worldwide and in 2017 there had been a 13% rise in the last decade. Despite more people having mental health conditions, and greater awareness it can still be difficult for employers to know how to support their staff’s mental well-being in practice. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 so we are looking at just that - this blog outlines some of the legal requirements as well as ways employers can create a culture that supports their employee’s mental health.

Are Mental Health Conditions Disabilities?

Mental health can impact all areas of life, including work. Sometimes this can leave people struggling to carry out their normal work and tasks, or in other cases, work can cause them more anxiety than usual. According to the Mental Health Foundation , a 2013 Global Burden of Disease Study showed that the most predominant mental health problems worldwide include:

Depression
Anxiety
Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder

Under the Equality Act 2010, some mental health conditions are classed as being a disability and so must be treated as such by the law. The Mental Health Foundation state that major depressive disorder is thought to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide and in a recent disease index, mental health conditions were shown to account for 21.2% of years lived with disability worldwide.

For a mental health problem to be considered a disability it must:

Have more than a small effect on a person’s everyday life
Make things more difficult for someone
Has lasted at least 12 months, is likely to last 12 months, or if the mental health problem has improved, it is likely to recur. -

Employer Requirements for Workplace Mental Health

Therefore, employers have various legal requirements regarding the well-being and health of their staff. ACAS , who provide employment advice, state that employers have a duty of care to their staff so are required to do all they reasonably can to support their employees' health, safety, and wellbeing. This includes:

Ensuring a safe working environment
Protecting staff from discrimination
Conducting risk assessments
Make reasonable adjustments for staff with a disability
Have an absence policy that details how staff should report an absence, staff in touch during absence and how much employees will be paid, and for how long

How Can Employers Support Staffs Mental Health?

The Mental Health Foundation has created a great online resource that outlines various steps that employers can take to ensure they are supporting their staff’s mental health which you can view here . Some of the key points for employers include:

Establish a workplace culture that commits to improving staff mental health and values openness and communication.

Ensure that senior leaders and middle managers understand and are responsible for implementing mental health programmes.

Continually reviewing the workplace culture and environment to ensure it is as mentally healthy as possible. For example by conducting regular staff surveys that include staff mental health and wellbeing and using these findings to improve policies.

Make evidence-based mental health promotion tools like mindfulness and exercise available to all staff.

Encourage staff to report any discrimination or harassment they experience or have seen others experience.

However, one of the main things an employer can do is simply talk to the person themselves. They can give you the best insight into their challenges and support needs. Starting the conversation here is key.

Benefits of Improving Mental Health in the Workplace

Employers are not legally required to provide all the support and systems we mention in this blog, but there are many potential benefits from a company doing so including:

Increased morale at work- which leads to increased productivity, efficiency, and innovation
Less time off sick for some employees
Attracting and keeping quality staff- the effect of poor retention is significant as recent figures suggest the cost of employee turnover to UK business exceeds £4 billion annually
Providing access to a wider customer group (the purple pound) - if people see themselves represented in your company, they are more likely to buy from you
Enhancing your company image internally and externally

How We Work With Employers to Support Staff Wellbeing

At Ways into Work, we work with both Employers and Job Seekers / Employees to provide practical support, and reasonable adjustments to ensure that both the employer and their employee’s needs are met. We provide a unique, hands-on service. We don’t just write a report and tell you what to do, we help you translate recommendations into actions. We roll up our sleeves and together we make it happen.

Reasonable Adjustments for Mental Health

Under the 2010 Equality Act employers are legally required to make reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments are defined by Mind as being:

“changes that organisations and people providing services or public functions have to make for you if your disability puts you at a disadvantage compared with others who are not disabled.”

This can be seen as quite broad and employers we work with are frequently not sure what this really means for them in practice. We also know that when people think of reasonable adjustments they often think of expensive equipment, building work, or employees spending significant time off work. However, adjustments have to be ones that are reasonable for employers to make, and that’s different every time.

At Ways into Work, we work with our clients to find out what support they need and then work with employers to identify how they can make this happen, supporting everyone to make that judgement about what really is reasonable so that our client is able to succeed at work, thereby meeting the business needs of their employer. Although reasonable adjustments will be specific to each person, drawing on our experience we have noted some examples of frequently made reasonable adjustments, they might just help someone who works with you too:

Flexible working – we’re all getting better at this post-pandemic, but simply giving an employee more or sometimes less time working from home (or in the office) can make all the difference.

Altering working hours – shifting start or finish times or just making them changeable.

Temporarily re-allocating tasks that an employee finds stressful and difficult, and working to understand why and what can be changed.

Making changes to the workplace environment e.g. working in a quieter environment (to aid concentration), or having an allocated work station (as opposed to the uncertainty hot desking which can be worrying for some)

Have a weekly discussion with their manager so they have protected time to ask questions, be certain about their workload, etc

Have one member of staff allocated to informing the employee of tasks rather than being overwhelmed with tasks from various managers or staff, and the challenges with prioritisation or stress levels this can bring.

We often provide long arm support from our employment coaches where we have meetings or informal chats daily, weekly, or when needed to talk through a hard day or things causing anxiety, helping the person think something through or just offload.

Long term Support for Mental Health in the Workplace

At Ways into Work, we support clients with mental health problems to help them through the difficult and often anxiety-provoking, process of getting a job, but importantly we continue to provide time-unlimited support as long as it’s needed. We understand that not only do conditions fluctuate, but the impact of changes in life in general and at work can often require support on an ongoing basis. So often missed, ongoing support is a critical part of supporting mental health at work, benefiting clients and employers alike.

For more information on how we support clients in the workplace, and how we can support you as an Employer , view our Supported Employment Page .

Introducing Barista & Beyond

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 13:44:40 GMT

Following the incredible outcome of our Crowdfunding campaign, we have been able to begin the process of setting up our café!

Our Crowdfunding campaign managed to raise nearly £11,000 which was an incredible result that is fundamental in allowing our café plans to even go ahead. We want to thank everyone who supported this fundraising effort and helped us to raise this money for such an important project!

In a recent blog post by Reading Borough Council , they announced our partnership with New Directions College , who will be providing off-site education and training for our potential café staff. Of course, we are not the first people to set up a café with a view to helping people get jobs but we think this partnership is one of the things that sets us apart - learners and potential future café employees will have the opportunity to learn how to make the food products, drinks, and even use the till system in a learning environment before having to do it for real. This will make a huge difference to confidence levels and the customer experience in the café. We just can’t wait to get started now! To read more about what Reading Borough Council has to say on the project you can read their article here .

Last week we announced the name of our new café – Barista & Beyond! We ran a poll on social media to find out what the public’s favourite name was and Barista & Beyond was our clear winner gaining nearly 70% of the votes!

Barista & Beyond is located in the heart of Reading by the Broadstreet Mall, just off the Oxford Road. Our café space is yet to be designed and fitted with all our new café equipment, but thanks to the success of our Crowdfunding campaign we are able to begin this process. Here is our Managing Director Becky in the current café space which we are excited to develop and watch turn into Barista & Beyond very soon! We have begun meeting with designers and have started looking at the interior plans and designs for the café space. This week we also had a meeting with a branding agency and have started to design our branding for Barista & Beyond including our logo and other marketing designs. There will be lots more exciting information and updates coming soon so keep an eye on our social media channels!

Job Carving really works for everyone!

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 14:36:30 GMT

Here’s a great example of how job carving can enable a person who has a disability to secure long sought after employment, and also meet the business needs of an employer who is struggling to recruit motivated, caring staff. Read about Emma and Care UK’s story.

Emma was born with learning disabilities and also has some very mild mobility issues. She struggles sometimes to know how to deal with certain situations and as a consequence experienced anxiety in her previous job. It was vital her Employment Coach got to know her well so we could match her with a job that would set her up to succeed but at the same time one that would meet the needs of an Employer. We learnt about Emma’s skills and experience, aspirations and difficulties and also helped her put together a CV. Emma also attended our online Employment Preparation Course to prepare her for the world of work and give her the confidence to get back into paid employment.

At Ways into Work , we have a team of skilled Employment Coaches who work one on one with our job seekers so they can create a person centred plan to support them in their employment journey. And we also work with over 200 employers to help them find talented and hugely motivated employees who will meet the needs of their business.

Emma was keen to work with the elderly. She has a nurturing personality and is calm and very caring so we soon realised given her aspirations to work with people with dementia, that we should target a job in a care home. Her Employment Coach began to contact care homes with regular vacancies to discuss the type of work Emma could do and what she could bring to the organisation. We worked alongside Care UK’s recruitment team to create a role that would suit Emma but one that would meet the needs of their business – modifying slightly their typical Care Assistant role into a Resident Companion role which would work well for the centre and their residents. A supported interview was set up with Care UK’s Regional Manager and with some coaching, Emma was able to demonstrate her motivation to work, and her skills – and this led to her being offered the job!

If you are currently looking for employment you can visit our Job Seekers Page to see how you could benefit from working alongside our dedicated Employment Coaches. Or if you are an employer visit our Employers Page to see how we can help you think outside the box to employ talented employees for various positions to meet your company recruitment needs.

Social Enterprise Support Funding

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 11:25:54 GMT

We’ve secured £100,000 Social Enterprise Support Funding

Great news - We’ve secured £100,00 of funding from the Social Enterprise Support Fund to make us more financially sustainable and help set up our café.

The funding we have secured will go towards:

Freeing up management time from day to day operations to focus on business development; growing income from employers, selling more Disability Awareness Training and growing other financial streams so that we become more financially sustainable.
Enabling us to employ a café manager to set-up and run our café in Reading, and provide them with the tools and training to provide supported employment. This is essential as they will then not only be a enable the café to thrive as a business, but be equipped with the skills to support our clients (people with disabilities) who will work there, whether in paid roles, on support internships or gaining work experience. To find out more about our café, please click here .

Achieving these two things will mean that we can continue to support clients in work where there is no longer any funding - this includes the 119 of our current clients who are supported by our Keeping in Touch team. Our experience and national statistics tell us that without ongoing support people with disabilities are much more likely to lose their jobs. So we know that ongoing support is vital. However, despite recognising the benefits, local authorities, large funders, employers & parents alike are reluctant to pay for it.

We’re incredibly grateful to the Social Enterprise Support Fund for recognising the importance of our work and supporting us to change lives, one job at a time .

The Social Enterprise Support Fund provides vital and rapid financial support to help social enterprises in England focussed on supporting their communities to recover from the pandemic. The Social Enterprise Support Fund is a two-year project, delivered by Big Issue Invest, Key Fund, Resonance, the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), and UnLtd, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, and will jointly deliver £16.3 million in grants.

This has been made possible thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. 

Autism Acceptance Week

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 13:20:24 GMT

Know anyone with Autism – we bet you do!

From the 28 ^th of March until the 3 ^rd of April this year is World Autism Acceptance Week 2022. The National Autistic Society , explains that “Autism is a lifelong disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. There are approximately 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.” So the likelihood is, you know someone who has autism although you may not know it! For more information on what autism is, look at our blog from last year here - Autism Awareness Week 2021 .

Here at Ways into Work, we are currently working with around 500 job seekers who have a disability or other employment barrier, to help support them in their employment journey. Of these job seekers, around 150 of these individuals are on the autistic spectrum so we know first-hand the excellent attributes that the majority can bring to a role.

We all have our own strengths, weaknesses, and challenges that we face in our day-to-day life as well as in our jobs. For example, individuals who are on the autistic spectrum often need more time to process new information or may struggle to meet new people and adjust to new environments. However, the vast majority of individuals on the autistic spectrum have specific strengths that are extremely beneficial to employers including:

· Intense focus

· Attention to detail

· A considered and reflective approach

· Honestly and integrity

· Creative thinking

These attributes, stated by the National Autistic Society , are well-known strengths that many autistic individuals possess, but they also match our own observations. The job seekers who we have worked with that are on the autistic spectrum tend to possess these key strengths which make them valuable employees for many sectors. In addition to these great strengths, we have also found that many individuals with autism tend to be extremely loyal and dedicated to the companies they work for.

Despite this, the employment gap for most adults with a disability, including individuals with autism, is still extremely high. Only 22% of individuals on the autistic spectrum are employed in the UK.

We know first-hand that this low percentage can be improved on by supporting these individuals in their employment journey and by providing employers with mentoring to do just that. At Ways into Work, our Employment Coaches specialise in carefully matching each of our job seekers to a role and company that suits their individual skills and strengths. Of the 150 individuals that we work with who have autism, nearly two-thirds have gained work. This shows that Supported Employment techniques really work, that they can have an incredible impact on people’s lives whilst at the same time meeting the recruitment and manpower needs of a business.

If you are a job seeker get in touch or view our Job Seekers Page to see if we can support you in your employment journey. Or if you are an employer get in touch or view our Employers Page to find out how we can help you access an untapped workforce, and support your new employee and their line manager in the workplace.

"Doing something great!"

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 15:30:33 GMT

A big welcome to four new members of staff who have joined the Ways into Work team over the past few weeks and who are going to be 'doing something great'. Here is an update on who the new members of the team are and what their role is:

For information on the rest of our fantastic team members view our ' Meet The Team Page '.

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

When is a cafe, more than a cafe?

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 12:45:57 GMT

… when it supports people with disabilities and other barriers on their journey to meaningful paid employment.  

At Ways into Work, we specialise in matching the skills and talents of people with disabilities and other barriers to the needs of local businesses. This provides them with the support they need to access sustainable employment, increase their independence, and most importantly, have the same opportunities as everyone around them. 

To grow our impact, we are working in partnership with New Directions College to launch a brand-new project - our very own café near the Broad Street Mall in Reading’s town centre. New Direction College are leading on the offsite learning and qualifications using their SMILE hospitality learning suite and upgraded digital capability. This café will not only be a trendy new spot for you to enjoy coffee, sandwiches, and cake, but it has many other benefits as well.

In line with our social mission – Changing Lives, One Job at a Time – the café will employ and be staffed by people with disabilities and other barriers, supporting those in the local community. This will mean paid jobs for our clients, as well as other development opportunities, such as work experience and supported internships .

But the benefits do not stop there... it will challenge perceptions of disability by demonstrating real diversity in the workforce, showcasing how employing people with disabilities can benefit employers and provide funding to support the Keeping in Touch (KIT) team in its vital role supporting people where there is no funding or the funding has run out.

Our Keeping in Touch team provide essential ongoing support to clients who are no longer funded under Local Authority or other commissioned contracts. The KIT team has no external funding and we re-invest our finite earnings into it to offer our 'time unlimited support promise’ to ensure that, through life’s ups and downs, support is available to maintain sustainable employment.

We have launched a Crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise £30,000 to help set up the café and make this project a success, but we need your support - so please share with everyone you know to raise awareness and get the message out there!

To Change Lives, One Job at a Time , and for a new spot to enjoy your morning cuppa – please donate today to our crowdfunding campaign!  

1st March - Zero Discrimination Day

lauras@waysintowork.com (Laura Shuttleworth) — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 14:19:49 GMT

Unfortunately, discrimination occurs worldwide and can affect anyone for a variety of reasons. On this Zero Discrimination Day, we are celebrating the movement launched by UNAIDS and the United Nations to support the push to ‘end inequalities’.

Zero Discrimination Day highlights how people can become informed about and promote inclusion, compassion, peace, and, above all, a movement for change. Zero Discrimination Day is helping to create a global movement of solidarity to end all forms of discrimination.

At Ways into Work our mission is to support disadvantaged people, most often people with a disability, into employment so discrimination around disability is a topic dear to our hearts. Disability discrimination occurs when a person with a disability is treated unequally, less favourably, or not given the same opportunities as other people because of their disability. We feel discrimination often arises though, due to a lack of knowledge or understanding so we work hard to inform and empower people working alongside those with a disability … more on that later … for now let’s instead focus on abilities, not disabilities …

Focus on abilities, not disabilities

Previously, many people with disabilities have been defined by their disability rather than by what ability they bring to the table. The social model of disability is a way of viewing the world that was developed by disabled people and its roots began back in the 1970s with the disability rights movement. The model says that people are disabled by the barriers in society, not by their impairment or differences. In broad terms there are 3 types of barriers; attitude, environmental and institutional and the model suggests that when barriers are removed, people with disabilities can be independent and equal in society.

For example, environmental barriers could be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets, or they can be caused by people's attitudes to difference, like assuming disabled people cannot do certain things. The social model helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice, and control.

Equality in the workplace is all about individuality

One area that disabled individuals can be discriminated against is in the workplace. Unlike, many instances of discrimination, workplace discrimination towards those who have disabilities or other workplace barriers is often not intentional.

Some people have perceptions that those with disabilities cannot work, but for the majority of individuals, this is completely false. In fact one of the main barriers for those with a disability is not the work or role itself, it is the recruitment process and this can be so easily addressed. For many job seekers, there are simple, easy, and very reasonable adjustments that can be made by Employers to the recruitment process or a job role to ensure they are not discriminating against any individuals. For example, by providing a work trial rather than a work interview where someone can physically demonstrate they can do the tasks involved.

A Supported Intern on his journey to employment

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 15:50:14 GMT

Many interns come to us wanting to start work but are unsure what career path they want to go down. This is the case for many young adults and it can put many people off doing an internship as they are not sure whether it will be beneficial for their future career or are not sure where to even do an internship. This blog explains why supported internships can be so beneficial and provides a recent in progress success story from one of our clients.

What is a Supported Internship?

Our Supported Internships allow young people in education who have special educational needs to either build skills in their preferred career destination or try different types of roles to help them develop workplace skills and gain a better understanding of what future career path they would like to go down.

Supported internships are essentially year-long unpaid work placements supported by a qualified Job Coach, that can be undertaken in a variety of industries and take place predominantly on an employer’s site. This allows young people to learn ‘on the job’.

According to the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) the aim of supported internships is to “secure a job at the end of the placement” and whilst this is the ultimate aim of undergoing a supported internship there are many more potential benefits including:

· Experiencing different job roles to learn what they enjoy doing

· Having a highly skilled Job Coach support them and their Employer throughout the process

· Developing workplace skills that employers are looking for

Here's one of our current interns building his own success story

What’s Next?

Luke will continue on this next placement on his supported internship before moving onto his third rotation after Easter. This is likely to be in either Portering or the Post Room as focusing on one of these will allow Luke to layer up his skillset and get him ready to move into a permanent paid position, which is of course the ultimate aim of our supported internship programme! Keep an eye on this space to find out how Luke progresses.

For more information on supported internships and on who can apply for one you can view our Supported Internships Pag e

It's here! But we won't be for a few days ...

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 09:44:13 GMT

Another year almost over

What a year its been - a massive thank you to our wonderful staff, our non-exec directors and advisory board for all you do for us, commissioners, funders, partners and our wonderful employers. Without you all, we could not fulfil our mission ' Changing Lives One Job at a Time '.

Happy Christmas everyone. We are on holiday from Friday 24th of December to Monday 3rd January inclusive. Our info@waysintowork.com email will be monitored however, as well as our main line 0300 561 0010 . See you in 2022 ...

Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash

Supported interns building invaluable employment skills

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 18:37:42 GMT

Our Route to Recruit Supported Internship empowering young people

Meet Diogo - he had begun his Route to Recruit journey as a Catering Stores Assistant with the Catering Department at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Since starting in September, Diogo has made a great impression with his team and line manager. He is responsible for unpacking and sorting deliveries, stock rotation, and the general upkeep of the store room.

Diogo loves his placement, is learning invaluable skills and commented: “The best part of my job is that I am always busy. I am happy that I’m not just sitting at home.”

New partnership in Oxfordshire driving employment outcomes

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 17:17:25 GMT

Social enterprise gets supported employment support from Ways into Work

We are delighted to announce the launch of 'Wood to Work'. This partnership project is an exciting new collaboration between Ways into Work, Oxford Wood Recycling and Oxfordshire County Council’s supported employment service, Oxfordshire Employment. The three organisations will focus largely on enabling residents in the South Oxfordshire area enter the world of work. Opportunities for employment include accounting, business, trade-based learning, administration and more.

Oxford Wood Recycling is an Abingdon-based social enterprise specialising in recycled timber and building materials, and high quality carpentry. The aim is to look closely at individuals’ personal and professional aspirations, existing skills, location, abilities and more and help determine the best possible opportunity at Oxford Wood Recycling, County Print Finishers – Oxfordshire Employment’s socially responsible printing service - and with other employers in the local area.

Becky Lawson, Managing Director at Ways Into Work, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside Oxfordshire Employment and Oxford Wood Recycling on this exciting new venture. We’ve long been working in Berkshire and Hampshire delivering supported employment and supported internships, and this project marks not only our first steps in Oxfordshire but our first collaboration directly with two very different and very successful supported business models. We are really excited about the opportunity this partnership brings to grow our collective impact and change even more lives one job at a time across Oxfordshire county.”

You can read the full story here: https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-partnership-to-help-more-find-employment/ or listen to the interview on BBC Radio Oxfordshire (at 1 hour 22 minutes, 48 seconds).

New exciting partnership with Dynamic Training

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:55:15 GMT

Ways into Work and Dynamic Training have long been working together, in fact Dynamic Training are shareholders of Ways into Work. They were a really critical party supporting our spin out from the council to become a social enterprise back in 2015. In the last few weeks we’ve taken our relationship to the next level, working on two new projects together to support young people into employment.

In the coming weeks Ways into Work will be supporting Dynamic with two webinars funded by the Education & Training Foundation aimed at educating employers and apprenticeship providers on supported apprenticeships. Click on the date links to find out more and get booked on to the webinars on 17th November or 24th November . Claire Gardner, Managing Director at Dynamic is absolutely passionate about promoting supported apprenticeships and said “We really hope these webinars will help to demystify supported apprenticeship and demonstrate the life changing impact they can have”.

Ways into Work are also about to start providing job coaching across West London for Dynamic’s Employ me London project. We’ll be working collaboratively to support young people into supported apprenticeships and a range of other development opportunities. Together we are Changing Lives One Job (or apprenticeship) at a Time !

National employment rates drop to 5.1% for people with learning disabilities

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 17:29:55 GMT

The marginalised are becoming more marginalised

We are dismayed to see the employment gap growing for people with disabilities and in particular for people with learning disabilities (LD). In 2020-21, only 5.1% of adults with learning disabilities aged 18-64 and known to Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) were in paid employment [Indicator 1E], compared to 6% in 2017-18. In itself a dismal figure. 65% of people with LD want to work.

You can read about the findings and access the stats on the British Association for Supported Employment's (BASE) website news page here - it's a sorry tale! BASE work tirelessly to influence policy and w e, like BASE endorse the recent findings of the Work and Pensions Committee that funding of programmes to mitigate the barriers people with a disability face in gaining employment should be spent differently - with funding made available on a local level rather than invested in national programmes. Local Supported Employment organisations, like us, tend to achieve excellent employment outcomes for clients that we support and employers who work with us recognise the benefits of employing talented diverse people, so much so, they often come to us first with their vacancies.

Here are our stats. Compared with the national average of 5.1% they speak for themselves and clearly demonstrate that people with learning disabilities, with a little support, are motivated to work and can become valued employees.

Of the 221 clients we are working with who have learning disabilities, 144 of them are in paid work - that's a massive 65% and of those 94% have retained their work for significant time. We will continue doing all we can to secure contracts and grant funding that enables us to make this difference and Change Lives One Job at a Time.

Thank you to all our funders, employers and wonderful staff team who make this possible.

Wanted! A marketing professional

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 11:13:58 GMT

... who is passionate about supporting the disadvantaged

We have identified a need to expand and invest in all our marketing activities with an emphasis on digital communication. We provide fantastic support to clients and employers alike, however we know that we can do more to build on our existing digital and other communications platforms to share our good news stories and updates. We’re also looking for support to help develop new business opportunities and increase our reach to engage with more potential funders, commissioners and employers. Therefore, we have created this role with the objective to increase general awareness of our social impact as well as support with specific initiatives we are currently developing.

As the first specialist marketing role in the organisation, this represents an exciting opportunity for innovation and transformation.

If this appeals to you read more on our Careers and Vacancies page.

Photo designed by Freepik

Supported Internships ARE a route to recruitment

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 09:43:41 GMT

Job carved roles at Royal Berkshire Hospital benefits staff and patients alike

It’s been a difficult year for supported internships, nationwide many employers have struggled to take interns due to the pandemic. Not so though at the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) who for most of the last academic year still welcomed our interns and staff on to site.

Even more important therefore to celebrate success stories. We are delighted that two students, Lily and Josh, who recently finished our Route to Recruit Supported Internship at RBH have succeeded in gaining paid employment with the teams where they carried out their job placements.

After impressing staff during her internship, Lily, who has a learning disability, started her part time job in April as a Non Clinical Ward Support Assistant in the Cardiac Care Unit. As a very caring, genuine and helpful individual, Lily is a perfect fit for her role, helping the nurses with non-clinical tasks – including admin, collecting patient meds, supporting with lunches and housekeeping. Not only does Lily do a great job in her role, but her hard work and determination frees up nurses’ time to carry out clinical tasks and tend to patient welfare. From the way Lily conducts her job, you can tell that she is so proud to be an ‘essential worker’ and part of the Cardiac team, especially as she herself has a heart condition and is now working with the team that have medically supported her since it was diagnosed - she feels super safe in the workplace!

Josh, who has Autism, is also an individual who is making his mark at RBH. Josh started his internship working in the League of Friends Café but soon wanted to interact more with patients so then moved to a patient facing role in the Minor Injuries Clinic, where he has now secured employment as a part-time Non Clinical Ward Support Assistant. Like Lily, Josh is a vital member of the team - restocking supplies, cleaning, running errands and getting drinks for patients. As well as his new paid job, Josh volunteers in his spare time back at the café in his efforts to lend a hand, make a difference and build friendships.

These Ward Support roles have been job carved by our Route to Recruit team based at RBH. These types of roles cater to our student’s skillset and strengths, but importantly allow clinical staff to do more of the specialised tasks that they trained for – so ultimately job carving has benefitted everyone, patients included.

Lily and Josh have come so far since starting on the Supported Internship. Both gaining confidence and maturity due to the invaluable support of the teams they were embedded in at RBH and our Ways into Work Job Coaches.

Congratulations Lily and Josh on your new roles, they are well deserved and thank you to all the staff at RBH who make Changing Lives One Job at a Time possible.

To find out more about our Supported Internship programme Route to Recruit, click here .

Outstanding Stakeholder Survey results for Ways into Work

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:48:55 GMT

This Summer we completed our first stakeholder survey and we are absolutely thrilled to announce the results. We surveyed clients, parents, employers and our partners seeking to find out what we’re doing well and where we might need to improve. The results exceeded our expectations with our stakeholders giving us an average overall rating of 4.6/5 and an average customer service rating of 4.7/5. Over 90% found it easy or really easy to get the information they needed from us. So you might say the facts speak for themselves. In fact, it was the comments that really meant the most. We were overwhelmed by the heartfelt messages of appreciation from our clients and parents in particular. A true testament to the hard work and dedication of our team.

“Since finding my son a new job, I cannot fault the support you are giving him, he is given consistent support and good communication with all involved.”

We were praised for our communication and support of clients, but we also learned that people would like to hear from us a bit more regularly. People were keen to keep up to date with what’s going on at Ways into Work and to share in our successes. So watch this space …

A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in the survey and we’ll leave you with the words of one of our clients who summed up beautifully exactly what Ways into Work is all about ...

“you found me a job and I am pleased”

Supported Internships rock!

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 07:59:14 GMT

Route to Recruit interns start their journey to employment this week

Lots of luck today to our newly enrolled interns and brilliant Ways into Work team - 21 young people start this week on our Route to Recruit Supported Internship supported by the team in a variety of settings across Berkshire in Health, Horticulture, Care, Admin, Retail. Education and Performing Arts placements. We just wanted to say to those young people 'believe in yourself''.

The programme lasts 10 months and with the help of our Employment Coaches and some fantastic employers we plan to upskill these young people, remove the barriers to employment, create a diverse workforce and actually, also have a seriously good time! Watch out for our updates on everyone's progress as this year's programme gets under way.

if you are an young person who learns by doing rather than in the classroom , have an EHCP and are aged 16 to 24 or an employer who wants to make a difference, create a recruitment pipeline of skilled up young people and at the same time provide learning and development opportunities for your line managers take a look at our Supported Internships page or get in touch.

Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash

Campaigning for economic recovery for young people

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 11:19:30 GMT

Youth Employment Group publish new paper

The Youth Employment Group (YEG) established in April 2020 in response to the post COVID employment crisis, is the largest UK coalition of youth employment experts. With over 200 member organisations, including one close to our hearts (or our very own) the British Association of Supported Employment (BASE) we are really pleased to see inclusive youth employment being advocated for in force. Specifically the YEG supports a number of subgroups looking at cause and solutions for the challenges facing different groups; and from our point of view it is great to have representation for disability and employers in those groups.

The YEG have been calling for all young people to be supported in the economic recovery. We know that of the 1 in 7 young people not in employment or education, most are not actively looking for work, and those with disadvantages and barriers to employment continue to face the greatest risk of being left behind. This month YEG published a new paper “ Levelling Up for young people: Building an Opportunity Guarantee ” addressing the short and long term employment challenges for young people.

The report proposes a three-stage approach between now and early 2022. Starting with a “September Guarantee” giving the class of 2021 the opportunity to take their next step into either employment or education. The report makes recommendations for:

More education opportunities
Improvements and expansion of kickstart & apprenticeships
Higher quality and quantity of local employment support
Cross government accountability and collaboration

Click here to find out more. Support their work by sharing their paper on social media because together we can all make a real difference to young people’s lives.

Photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash

A promise is definitely a promise in our book

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 09:52:01 GMT

Ways into Work continue to support the disadvantaged in Windsor and Maidenhead

What a journey…

For the past 20 years, Ways into Work has been working with the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM) – Changing Lives, One Job at a Time . For those that don’t know, we originated as a council run service before spinning out as a majority employee owned, Community Interest Company in 2015.

Our RBWM contract supporting people with disabilities to find paid work came to an end earlier this year - we couldn’t be more proud of everything that we, our clients and employers have achieved in RBWM over this time. This includes having one of the best employment outcomes in the country – more than 3 times the national average, for people with Learning Disabilities.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of those in the council who supported us to change so many lives for the better. RBWM were regularly, through our efforts, in the top 4 Local Authorities nationwide for securing employment for people with Learning Disabilities - something we worked hard to achieve.

However, this is not the end of us working in RBWM. We are delighted to be continuing to work in the borough, supporting our clients and employers on other projects such as Building Better Opportunities and our Supported Internship Programme ‘Route to Recruit’ - ever aiming to increase positive outcomes for disadvantaged jobseekers for years to come.

But … simply getting people into work is not where the story ends …

From our experience of working in Supported Employment for the past two decades, we know that continued person-centred support for people with disability leads to long term employment. We therefore make a ‘time unlimited support promise’ to our clients and their employers to ensure that, through life’s ups and downs, support is available to maintain sustainable employment. For us it is not just a ‘get a paid job numbers game’. We re-invest our finite earnings back into positively and permanently meeting our social mission: Changing Lives, One Job at a Time .

One initiative set up with these re-invested earnings is our new Keeping in Touch team – KIT for short. They are the expert Employment Coaches who provide essential ongoing support to clients (and their employers) who are no longer funded under Local Authority or other commissioned contracts. Providing vital support in maintaining current skills, learning new tasks, considering career development and coping with change, our Employment Coaches continue the person-centred support that helps people with disabilities to stay in employment and grow. Crucially, they also manage relationships with employers that ensure business objectives continue to be met, thus securing the best outcome for all involved.

This team supports clients like Ian, who works at a garden centre and has a learning disability. We helped him back into work after a long period of illness and to adjust to working at a different location when the garden-centre he was employed at, closed.

Ian commented – “I like the continuous support as it assures me that if anything goes wrong, there is someone there to help me understand and sort out the issue.”

The KIT teams work not only helps clients sustain employment, but benefits employers as well - reducing repetitive recruitment costs by retaining valuable workers who diversify their workforce. Not to mention all the many benefits that diversity brings to their organisation.

This is something that everyone at Ways into Work are really passionate about - permanent positive outcomes … after all ‘a promise, is a promise’.

To learn more about supported employment and what we do, click here .

Image by Epic Top 10 Site

It's official - LOCAL employment support works best!

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 08:41:28 GMT

Work and Pensions Committee report on the Disability Employment Gap

The Work and Pensions Committee has released its report on the disability employment gap and are calling for a radical overhaul and a new ambitious target to break down unacceptable employment barriers faced by disabled people.

The Committee has called on the Government to re-adopt its previous target of halving the gap, which currently stands at an increased 30 percentage points, stating a new more ambitious target of getting an additional 1.2 million disabled people into work by 2027 should also be introduced. Research by disability charity Leonard Cheshire set the scene suggesting that 71% of disabled people have had their work impacted by the pandemic, compared with 61% of non-disabled people.

The report is music to our ears! From our point of view the report makes some very overdue and welcome recommendations advocating for a more local approach to commissioning employment support.

Committee Chair, Stephen Timms, said " The currently, overly centralised model of support simply isn’t working. We need a radical new localised approach. Support for finding and staying in a job that is much more personalised, flexible and effective should be delivered by groups of local authorities working with the NHS, training providers and charities. ”

This is something that we and BASE (the British Association for Supported Employment) have been advocating for, for some time. The outstanding outcomes that supported employment organisations achieve speak for themselves. The Inquiry reported that many charities and organisations were critical of the DWP’s centralised approach to employment support, with its main programme, the Work and Health Programme (WHP) currently commissioned at a national level. The Centre for Social Justice Disability Commission said that only 14% of disabled participants on the Work Programme, the predecessor to WHP, were supported into work.

Building local relationships and partnership working is the way to go. By contrast Ways into Works outcomes are sitting around 60% of our clients in work and 90% retained in long term employment.

In the past many local authorities funded this support for their residents but austerity has meant budget cuts for non-mandatory services. The Committee calls on the DWP to take a new approach, granting more powers and funding to groups of local authorities to set up their own versions of the Work and Health Program. (p25 of the report).

Ways into Work completely supports this - bring it on - we are ready and waiting to Change more Lives, One Job at a Time ! The report made many recommendations in terms of :

Supporting disabled people into work
Supporting disabled people in the workplace
The disability benefits system
DWP’s engagement with disabled people

You can read the full Work and Pensions Inquiry Report here .

Find out more about how we support Job-Seekers and how we can help Employers to access a talented untapped workforce increasing diversity and inclusion in their organisation. Get in touch - we'd love to hear from you.

What a year!

oliver@waysintowork.com (Oliver Bliss) — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 07:53:01 GMT

We can all agree that the past year has been some rollercoaster, and we could not have ridden this ride alone.

Ways into Work has come up against many challenges this last year; the pandemic, the country being plunged in and emerging out of 3 lockdowns and ongoing restrictions – all contributing factors that have forced some of our client’s employers to temporarily close.

Despite all these difficulties we have been able to support our clients, employers and own colleagues. We worked hard to help our clients keep connected as the work increasingly moved online and developed a new accessible Employment Preparation Course (EPC) - supporting clients to understand and respond to the changing world. We also helped employers to understand the furlough scheme and the changing workplace risks posed by COVID-19 for our clients. Not only that, but we have provided our colleagues with mental health and resilience training to both help build their own mental resilience, as well as equip them with tools to support our clients through this tough time.

Clients like Tyler, who has a learning disability. We supported him into his Kitchen Assistant role at a luxury hotel. With a little help to understand formal processes, job expectations and transition into a professional working environment, Tyler is thriving. Unfortunately, he was made redundant due to the pandemic, however, being a valued employee, was asked to re-apply when they re-opened in May and is now back in the role that he loves.

Tyler’s mum commented:

“This job gives Tyler confidence, as well as a sense of purpose, self-worth, and personal achievement. Ways into Work have been an integral support for Tyler, giving him opportunities that he would not have been able to achieve alone and which have led to him having a happier and healthier life in every way.”

However, we could not have achieved this success without the support of our funders. We would like to give a massive shout out to them for their critical support and investment that has allowed us to continue supporting people with disabilities and other barriers into sustained employment.

Firstly, to the Social Enterprise Support Fund and the Shanly Foundation . Thanks to the significant funding they have given us, we have been able to employ Employment Coaches who support our clients in work.

Secondly, The Berkeley Foundation ’s goal is to fund organisations that take a positive attitude to encouraging young people, helping them build resilience, overcome barriers and take control of their lives. They funded us to develop and deliver the mental health and resilience training. This has given our staff the tools to build up our clients’ resilience and knock-on effects improving their happiness and welfare. This programme has positively impacted the lives of over 100 young people.

A special mention needs to be made to Slough Borough Council and the National Lottery Community Fund for the way they have supported us on the Building Better Opportunities project . Whilst we were sorting out how best to support our clients in lockdown, their flexibility and prompt payment made it possible for us to keep working to our highest standards.

A huge thank you to all funders that have supported us over the past year – together we are Changing Lives, One Job at a Time!

Photo by Maxime on Unsplash

Government publishes new National Strategy for autistic children, young people and adults:

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 12:45:28 GMT

The strategy sets out how the Government will provide support over the next five years.

Last week the Government published its long lobbied for, Autism Strategy, which sets out how it plans to support autistic adults and children in England over the next five years. We really welcome this! In summary they intend to:

invest £10.5 million into finding new ways to reduce diagnosis waiting times for children and young people
invest £2.5 million to improve the quality of adult diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathways and diagnosis waiting times
increase public understanding of autism with a long-term, nationwide initiative
provide £18.5 million to prevent autistic people from falling into mental health crisis and £21 million to local authorities to help people move from inpatient units back into the community
improve autism understanding among education professionals, job centre staff and frontline staff in the justice system.

We are pleased to see this involves an investment in supporting people into work. As part of the Strategy, by 2026 the government wants:

more autistic people to have jobs.
to help autistic people who have jobs, to keep them by improving the help autistic people can get to find and stay in jobs, and
to improve help for autistic people who can’t work, so they can live well.

So how do they plan to do this?

By helping businesses understand autism, so they are able to give jobs to autistic people. (Something we already work hard to do through our on the ground support to employers and our Disability Awareness Training Courses.)
By making training and Jobcentres more accessible to help autistic people find jobs.
By continuing the Access to Work scheme. Which provides financial support to disabled people when they find a job, by way of a Job Coach, work placed adjustments and in some cases support with travel.

Of course Ways into Work has been providing support to hundreds of clients with autism for many years, through the funding we've secured from Local Authorities and grant funders. We know the 'supported employment' model works as we had already reached the Government's 2015 target to halve the disability employment gap by 2027, many years ago and we continue to work hard to change lives, one job at a time. Find out more about Autism and employment here .

If you are a Job Seeker you can check out if you are eligible for our support here and if you are an Employer who needs support to diversify your workforce we would love to hear from you - please get in touch .

You can read the Strategy paper here and see more from The National Autistic Society who have been fierce campaigners in increasing funding.

Supported Internships make sense!

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 10:24:50 GMT

Another employer joins the Route to Recruit Supported Internship rollout for 21-22

We are so pleased to welcome Make/Sense Theatre on board. They are joining the fast growing collection of employers on our Route to Recruit Supported Internship who are dedicated to supporting young people who face barriers in securing employment.

The Make Sense Theatre supported internship is our first 'performing arts' sector internship so we are really thrilled to have them on board. Supported Internships provide young people with a disability the opportunity to enrol at college but spend the majority of time in the workplace, supported by the Employer and a Ways into Work Employment Coach. These programs are really successful in ultimately getting young people into paid work by upskilling them through the internship year by layering up skills and teaching them about what an employer expects.

Our thanks go to the team at Make Sense Theatre for working with us to Change Lives One Job at a Time . One young person is joining them in September and we are looking forward to seeing the progress that this talented young man from Brookfields SEN School will undoubtedly make. We will check back on this later.

Read more about how Supported Internships work here . if you are an Employer who would like to explore this get in touch .

A warm welcome to new team members

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 09:27:03 GMT

New colleagues join the teams in West Berks and Hampshire

We are pleased to welcome Neil Muir, Derek McKenzie and Amanda Soleil to our West Berks and Hampshire project teams.

Neil and Derek will be working with our Area Manager for Young People, Ian May on the newly commissioned project supporting young people not in education, employment or training, on their employment journey. Amanda joins the well established team working in Hampshire supporting people with learning disabilities and managed by Area Manager, Michelle Magee. Visit our 'Meet the Team' page here .

Clients return to work at Legoland® Windsor Resort

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 08:16:33 GMT

Happy faces all round

There will be many local children and families we are sure, that will be very happy indeed that the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort has now reopened after such a long period of closure due to Covid. Ways into Work has been working with Legoland Windsor for over 12 years supporting many clients into paid positions there and several of these clients return to the park year after year when it re-opens every spring.

It was really lovely to see our clients’ happy faces as they were finally able to return to work – 21 of them working in a variety of roles in food and beverage, admissions and ground operatives . Most notably, in fact one client has been employed there for 11 years – there’s employee loyalty for you!

As usual some of our Job Coaches will be popping in to make sure all is running smoothly, often vying for the opportunity to do so – it’s such a lovely place to visit.

New Supported Internship partner

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 08:28:32 GMT

Ways into Work form new partnership with Nurture Landscapes to deliver Supported Internships

We are really pleased to be kicking off our partnership working with Nurture Landscapes , an award winning national horticulture and landscape maintenance business, who are offering a wealth of opportunities to young people. You can read about their fantastic work here . It's clear Nurture are passionate in supporting young people through these difficult times. We are delighted to have partnered with them to set up two Supported Internships placements which will provide two young people with a disability the chance to upskill on a 9 month placement, enabling them ultimately to become an attractive hiring proposition to employers.

These interns will be two of over 20 interns starting on supported Internships with us in September, in a variety of jobs and locations across Berkshire and Hampshire. They will work alongside staff at Nurture Landscapes and one of our Employment Coaches who will provide support to both the young people and staff working with them. Supported internship programs achieve great employment outcomes for young people who face extra challenges and also the opportunity for line mangers to develop their management skills to adapt to individual staff needs, notwithstanding it can provide a reliable recruitment pipeline. You can read here about how our Route to Recruit Supported Internship works.

Get in touch if you are interested to know more and many thanks to Nurture Landscapes - we can't wait to get started.

Meet our new Board members

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:17:17 GMT

We are head over heels to announce the appointment of three new Non-Executive Directors (NED’s) at Ways into Work.

A huge welcome to Maurice George, Hassan Khan and James Welchman. They join our existing NED’s Claire Gardner and Hugh Chamberlain, and along with Becky Beechen, our MD, they now make up our new board. We are so grateful to Hugh and Claire for their help and guidance over the last few years. We are particularly indebted to Hugh for really sticking with us and providing ongoing support over some particularly challenging times in earlier years. Moving forwards we are all really excited about our newest board members who coming from varied backgrounds bring with them a wealth of diverse skills and knowledge from business roles, to education and lived experience. This also means a step up for Hugh who will now chair the board, a role we are very appreciative to him for fulfilling unofficially over the last few years.

When recruiting our NED’s we were so pleased and surprised with the amount of really high quality individuals wanting to share their experience and help further the mission of Ways into Work. We've always had a plan to create an Advisory Board representing our stakeholders and forming an important part of our governance in terms of operational and strategic decision making. While the iron was hot, we struck! So we are also welcoming Scott Watkin (Client rep); Graham Heffer (Employer rep); Jane Kidd (Parent rep) and Simon Carter (Employee Ownership rep) to our newly founded Advisory Board. In addition to their NED roles Maurice will represent education and Hassan will chair the advisory board. We also hope to gain a commissioner/funder rep in the future.

For us this also marks a new chapter in Ways into Work’s history. Now 6 years old in our current formation as a Community Interest Company, we’ve been through a lot of the early challenges that businesses face, finding our feet and growing whilst still trying to set our foundations. With a lot of that under our belt we are starting to become much more planful and forward facing. We are thrilled to have such a strong support team behind us and together we are working on developing our long term vision for the future of Ways into Work, so we can ' Change even more Lives, One Job at a Time '. Watch this space …

Photo by William Sinclair on Unsplash

What is a Learning Disability?

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:21:00 GMT

Learning Disability Awareness week is upon us!

This year focuses on arts and creativity. Whilst we can’t claim to be artists, we can’t miss a chance to shout about our take on creativity in our work supporting people with a learning disability into employment.

First off, what is a learning disability?

We love Mencap’s easy to understand definition of learning disability . You can hear from people with a learning disability, talking about what it means for them in this video . We also thought we’d take the opportunity to clear up some things we are often asked about.

What is the difference between a learning disability and learning difficulty ?

People can get confused about the difference between a learning disability and a learning difficulty , which is understandable as they are sometimes used interchangeably. The important difference is that a learning disability is a condition which affects all aspects of learning, where a learning difficulty effects a specific area. For example, somebody with dyslexia has a learning difficulty as it relates to reading and writing, but not other areas of their life.

With the right support, anything is achievable.

It’s not true that people with a learning disability can’t learn new things. The key is simply having the right support, and that’s where organisations like us come in. Every day we are proving that people with a learning disability can not only learn new things, but become highly valued colleagues and members of their community.

Talk to me! We are not so different, you and I.

People say they don’t know how to talk to someone with a learning disability. Of course you do! They are first and foremost a person, and you talk to people all the time! Sometimes you might need to adapt your communication, again you do that all the time too, but if you need some reassurance we can help with our disability awareness training .

The cold hard facts about employment

There are around 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Around 65% of these people want to work. Sadly, depending on which statistic you believe, somewhere between only 6% and 26% actually have paid employment. Whilst people with learning disabilities may take a little longer to learn a job, they are dedicated, motivated and loyal. They will often carry out their tasks to a higher standard, flourishing on tasks that other people don’t enjoy very much. There is therefore, every reason to consider removing the barriers (typically the recruitment process itself) and employing this untapped workforce.

What support is there for those looking for a job?

For people with a learning disability (we also work with people with other disabilities or who need support for another reason), we provide support to help you get a job and keep it too. We also help with getting ready for work, work experience, supported internships, and apprenticeships.

If you or someone you know wants to get into work and needs some help, you can find out more about our services here .

What support is available for employers to access these capable and motivated job seekers?

Ways into Work can provide support to employers to access this relatively untapped talent pool, develop and implement processes to provide equal opportunities, as well as provide advice and training around the benefits of a diverse workforce and what adjustments can be made. Read more about the support that’s available here .

As an employer, you can help make a difference by increasing your awareness of learning disabilities and other barriers to employment – check out our Disability Awareness blog .

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Ways into Work awarded Supported Employment Contract in West Berks

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 07:37:39 GMT

West Berkshire Council provide employment service to young people

We are pleased to announce that Ways into Work have won the contract to continue our supported employment work in the West Berkshire area, working closely with valued partners particularly in the education sector. The contract funded by West Berkshire District Council will run for three years from July this year and its focus will be on supporting young people aged 16 to 25 who have an Education, Health & Care Plan, on their journey into employment.

It’s really good to see that at a time when budgets are extremely tight for Local Authorities, and Supported Employment is not a mandatory service, that West Berkshire Council are investing in providing employment support … a service which parents and carers of young people with special educational needs really value. We are thrilled to be delivering an early intervention project in West Berks once again.

Information about the service will shortly be published on our website .

Are Employers Missing Out?

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 11:22:49 GMT

Firms 'lose trillions' by ignoring disabled consumers - is your business missing out?

At Ways into Work we are so pleased to see that some of the world's biggest firms have signed up to the campaign ' The Valuable 500 ' which aims to tackle prejudice towards disabled people in the business world. All of them have made a public commitment to advancing disability inclusion within their organisations, either among staff, customers or their supply chains.

Here in the UK the 'Purple Pound' refers to the spending power of disabled households. More than 1 in 5 potential UK consumers have a disability and it's estimated that b usinesses lose over £20 billion a month by ignoring the needs of disabled people. That's over £250 billion a year! Mainly due to poor accessibility in store or on websites and lack of informed customer service.

Still not convinced? Here are some facts:

There are really clear benefits to employers for recruiting people with a disability which ultimately positively impacts their bottom line and improves business performance.
I f people see themselves reflected in a company (and their workforce) they are more likely to shop there.
There is an untapped workforce available; talented people with a disability who are really motivated to work.
There are Supported Employment organisations, like us, who can help businesses access that untapped workforce.

Here's some reading about The Valuable 500 and facts regarding the Purple Pound . If you are an employer that wants support to embrace diversity read more here and get in touch with us - we can help.

Preparation is key

Wed, 19 May 2021 10:07:22 GMT

When looking for a new employment opportunity, do you ever consider if you are really ready for the application process?

Having the excitement, determination and passion to find a new job, as well as possessing the skills and capability to meet the requirements of that job can be an exhilarating time for any job seeker. But there is a journey to undertake first to get to that all important stage of having secured the job and getting stuck in.

Just like the Scouts’ motto ‘Be Prepared’, the first stage of seeking out employment needs to be preparing to apply for employment.

At Ways into Work we recognised that some of our clients, who often had never been in paid work, whilst very prepared and capable of doing a specific job, were not fully prepared for the process of actually applying for jobs. Ultimately this was significantly hindering their chances of getting to or past the interview stage.

Having identified our clients’ need for greater support in preparing for their employment journey, the Employment Preparation Course (EPC) was born! Since running the first course in October 2020, it has been very successful; we have run 9 separate courses, each 10 sessions long and prepared 87 individuals for their employment journey.

The EPC course covers very current and relevant content, ranging from understanding the current job market to how to approach an online interview, as well as outlining the benefits of work and a positive work ethic. The course is held remotely online, making it accessible to our clients from the comfort of their homes during the pandemic, as well as building their confidence on video calls.

The 10 sessions layer up week by week all the skills required to be successful in obtaining employment. Topics lead to a realistic style mock online interview – conducted and arranged by one of our Employment Coaches not known to the client. This really mimics the process of arranging and attending a real interview. Feedback is then given to each attendee on every aspect, from how they presented themselves in the video interview, to how they answered the questions and how they approached the initial interview set up communication.

The EPC has provided our clients with so much more than an opportunity to upskill and prepare for work; we experience firsthand how the individual’s confidence grows week on week and how they learn to enjoy interacting in group situations.

More about what content the EPC covers can be found on our flyer - download here .

Photo by Samantha Borges on Unsplash

Joining the Ways into Work team

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Thu, 13 May 2021 18:22:51 GMT

Ways into Work would like to welcome ....

... some new members who no doubt some of you will get to meet over time:

Kirstie Hardyman joining us an Employment Coach now working with the Building Better Opportunities team
Sam Cheney joining us an Employment Coach also currently working with the Building Better Opportunities team, and
Sarah St Fort our new Apprentice Employment Coach also working with the Building Better Opportunities team

This expansion results from an exciting partnership with DWP funded under the Building Better Opportunities Project and we are pleased to say that this also involved a well deserved promotion to Senior Employment Coach for Angela Thaper.

A resounding welcome to our new recruits who will contribute to our mission of Changing Lives, One Job at a Time and well done to Angela. Visit Our Team to put faces to the names.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2021

oliver@waysintowork.com (Oliver Bliss) — Wed, 12 May 2021 09:29:35 GMT

This week is Mental Health Awareness week. It’s a week dedicated to encouraging people to have genuine conversations about how they are feeling.

This years’ theme is Nature and there is positive research to support the role that nature can play in supporting our mental health. According to research by Mental Health Foundation, going for walks outside was the top coping strategy for people during the pandemic. 45% of people also reported that being in green spaces had been vital to supporting their mental health.

The Mental Health Foundation has put together a variety of videos, blogs and top tips around how people can connect with nature to benefit their mental health – check them out here to see how connecting with nature could benefit your mental health.

The NHS' Every Mind Matters resources provide simple practical tips and videos from experts on dealing with COVID-19 , stress and anxiety , boosting your mood , sleeping better and what you can do to help others. They also have a free Mind Plan that can get you started and show you some simple step to help improve your mental wellbeing.

Sport and physical activity is another way of supporting your mental wellbeing. With the national restrictions easing, our partner, Get Berkshire Active, have put together a list of resources to help support you in your return to physical activities - discover more here .

Employment is another area that can benefit your mental health. Having a job can improve self-esteem and confidence, while also reducing psychological distress. An article by The Health Foundation states that unemployment causes stress which can lead to long-term physiological health effects and have negative consequences on people’s mental health. We know this to be true from our own experience of working with people who struggle with their mental health.

If you are struggling with your mental health and wanting to find employment, Ways into Work may be able to support you on your journey to employment. Find out more about how we work with job seekers and if you are eligible for any of the projects we are commissioned to deliver here .

Deaf Awareness Week 2021

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:53:58 GMT

As the national Coronavirus restrictions begin to allow us to meet in groups of 6 outdoors, has it crossed your mind that one of your group could have some level of hearing loss?

The UK is home to approximately 11 million people with a hearing impairment - this makes it the second most common disability in the UK. About 1 in 6 adults are affected by hearing loss; many of whom also have tinnitus, a debilitating condition which affects about 1 in 10 adults.

Deaf Awareness Week is 3 ^rd - 9 ^th May this year and it aims to promote the positive aspects of deafness, social inclusion and raise awareness of a huge range of organisations that support deaf people, their family and friends – ourselves being one of them!

At least 4.4 million people with hearing loss are of working age and only around 65% of those are employed. This is significantly lower than the employment rate of people with no long-term health issue or disability which hovers around the 80% mark. The unemployment of such individuals and the productivity that they could bring is estimated to cost the UK economy £25 billion per year and if nothing is done to address lower employment rates, this figure could increase to £38.6bn per year by 2031.

This employment gap can be greatly reduced by supporting these individuals with additional barriers into work and increasing employers’ understanding that these barriers can be so easily overcome. There are easy to implement reasonable adjustments out there that can make working more accessible for someone with hearing loss – it really shouldn’t be a barrier to providing sustainable employment. One easy adjustment could be as simple as adjusting the layout of a meeting room and using good lighting to help everyone see each other clearly. This is not only important for lipreading but could actually benefit all staff enabling them to communicate more clearly. As everyone is different, the adjustments required will vary. If more expensive workplace adjustments are needed, don’t fear the price tag of providing this vital support – the government’s Access to Work scheme is designed to help organisations cover the cost and Ways into Work support the job seeker and employer to navigate that process.

If you are an employer, you can help make a difference by increasing your awareness of hearing loss and other barriers to employment. Ways into Work support employers' to access a relatively untapped talent pool, develop and implement processes to provide equal opportunities, as well as provide advice and training around the benefits of a diverse workforce and what adjustments can be made. Read more about what you are missing out on here .

For those with hearing loss and other disabilities or disadvantages who seek sustainable paid employment, we provide support in the journey to employment. We enable access to a range of opportunities, apprenticeships, supported internships, part-time and full-times roles. If you are a disadvantaged job seeker, find out more about where we operate and the varying eligibility criteria for our supported employment projects here .

Statistics and figures have been sourced from Hearing Link .

Photo by kyle smith on Unsplash

We agree - NOW is the time!

debra@waysintowork.com (Debra Burnett) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:30:21 GMT

With the developing success of Supported Employment for job seekers with long-term mental health needs, people with learning disabilities have once again been forgotten.

In a recent blog from the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) reflecting on the Supported Employment sector, it’s Chief Executive, Huw Davies, emphasises the need for the soon to be published National Disability Strategy to invest in high quality local support employment services.

Employment rates for people with learning disabilities stand somewhere between 6% and 26% - depending on who you believe – wherever the figure truly lies, there is no denying that greater access to supported employment services are essential and notably education pathways and supported internships for young people with disabilities need greater investment. It’s been shown that if a young learning-disabled person doesn't get a job by the age of 25-years, then they are unlikely to work through their life time. This is a huge waste of human potential when their skills and abilities could, with the right support, be deployed in the job market; improving their own wellbeing and that of society as a whole.

40 years after the introduction of Supported Employment to the UK, there has still not been any national statutory funding. Despite use of the Supported Employment model making financial sense – because local services using it are shown to achieve better and more sustainable outcomes than that of the marginally less expensive mainstream employment support commissioned by DWP - the sector is predominantly funded through hard pressed local authorities and charitable sources. All of whom are finding it difficult to make budgets stretch.

With a growing consensus, that locally commissioned support is the most effective model - enabling local coordination and building trust with jobseekers – now is the time to invest. Local Supported Employment services continue to be at risk without national funding, making it unlikely that employment rates will improve. The National Disability Strategy has to address the obvious need to invest, in much the same way as Treasury investment has benefitted the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services delivering local employment support to people with severe mental health difficulties.

Ways into Work whole heartedly endorse Huw Davies’ views and agree – Now is the time !

To read and find out more about Huw’s blog, please visit the BASE website here . To find out about what we do to support those with disabilities into sustainable employment, please visit here and if you are an employer read how we can help you reach a talented untapped workforce by visiting our website .

Huw Davies has been the chief executive of BASE since 2008. He previously chaired the Association from its formation in 2006 and chaired one of its predecessor associations, AfSE, from 2002 to 2006. He is one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Union of Supported Employment.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Talk to me! We are not so different, you and I.

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 16:03:25 GMT

We all want to live in a world where everyone feels included .

Although we live in the 21st century – a time with technology, space exploration and the scientific ability to create vaccines in record time to treat a deadly pandemic - we are still far from a perfect world.

In Great Britain, 2 out of 3 people admit they feel uncomfortable talking to individuals with a disability and this is mainly because people worry about saying the wrong thing. This often means that people unconsciously address their conversation or questions to other people who are with an individual with a disability, rather than that person themselves. Although this is done with good intention and in fear of accidentally appearing rude to that individual, it can come across as non-inclusive. Respecting the individual by seeing things from their point of view, learning about disability so you feel more confident and making little adjustments to how you communicate (if needed) will make for a much more inclusive world.

After all, we are all people with things in common, our own opinions to share and a desire to communicate. Whether that’s discussing our hobbies, asking questions to get to know people or just wanting to be social - there’s plenty to talk about. This also spills over into our professional working lives too; sharing our own ideas, each having our own career aspirations and having talents that can be put to good use. We really do have more in common than not.

At Ways into Work, we understand that often it’s not easy to strike up a conversation, and it can be uncomfortable to do so for the reasons above. Not only that, if you are managing a person with a disability you will want to feel confident that you can find the best way of communicating with them and getting the best out of your team member. That’s where we can help.

Our team of experts by experience deliver Disability Awareness Training in a unique interactive and experiential learning style. We provide participants with a safe environment to ask questions and really gain a greater understanding of disability. We keep a clear focus on increasing participants’ confidence in communicating with and about people with a disability, so that knowledge can be practically applied after the training.

Whether you are providing services for people with a disability specifically, have a customer services or HR role or basically are anyone living on planet earth we think our training is relevant and has something to offer you! We offer full day, half day and taster sessions which we can tailor to meet your needs.

To find out more, please visit our training and consultancy page.

World Autism Awareness Week 2021

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 15:41:59 GMT

Did you know that one in a hundred people are on the Autistic Spectrum?

In fact, there are around 700,000 adults and children in the UK who are autistic, so this means that you probably know someone (whether you actually know it or not) with autism – a friend, neighbour, colleague or family member.

Interestingly most people are unaware that autism actually isn’t really one single condition – it’s a collection of related neurological conditions and most autistic people are affected in one way or another through all of the traits – traits like communication, social awareness, sensory processing, repetitive behaviours, information processing, neuro-motor control for example. If you only struggle with one or two of these traits then it isn’t autism, it is called something else. So for example, if you only have problems with body movement and control this would be dyspraxia, rather than autism.

This year between 29th March and 4th April is World Autism Awareness Week . The United Nations also recognise the 2nd of April as World Autism Awareness Day. Both occasions aim to improve people’s understanding of autism and help make the world a friendlier place for those affected by it. Something as simple and easy as becoming more familiar and aware of autism can help make our society more understanding and inclusive. You can make a difference and lead this change by finding out about autism and how it affects people here .

Autistic people face barriers to employment and discrimination in the workplace and society as a whole. The UN has stated that the pandemic has also exposed heightened inequalities, including obstacles in the recruitment process and workplace environment. The Office of National Statistics has also published new data showing that only 22% of autistic people are in employment in the UK. The employment gap between those who have this condition and those who don’t have a disability is over 50% now – an alarming statistic particularly given so many want to work, are capable of work and they have the skills that employers need.

So what’s the problem? Frankly, most often, it is simply an inaccessible recruitment process that ends up ruling this highly skilled workforce out of securing that all important job.

Ways into Work know that this employment gap can be greatly improved upon and are dedicated to making a difference. We provide ongoing support to help those with autism and other disabilities or disadvantage on their employment journey to paid work. We enable access to a range of opportunities, apprenticeships, supported internships, part-time and full-time roles. If you are a disadvantaged job seeker, find out more here .

If you are an employer, you too can help make a difference by increasing your awareness of Autism and other barriers to employment. We support employers' access to a relatively untapped talent pool, to develop and implement processes to provide equal opportunities, as well as provide advice and training around the benefits of a diverse workforce. Find out more about what you are missing out on here .

Ways into Work support the push for diversity at Highways England’s Supplier Diversity Forum

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 16:10:36 GMT

On 3rd March, we were extremely pleased to partner with our friends and colleagues at Kier Construction to share good practice and talk about their successful employment programme – one which has been rolled out to Ways into Work clients over the last couple of years.

Over 260 delegates from a whole range of suppliers to Highways England registered for the event to listen to companies who are paving the way with innovative programmes, aimed at removing barriers to employment for the disadvantaged and/or driving accessibility for customers with diverse needs in the communities they serve.

Several Ways into Work clients have been through the programme, which aims to give an insight into jobs in the construction sector and build confidence and skills. Our Employment Coaches supported clients through the programme and worked with Kier to evolve and adapt the programme to meet our clients’ needs. The programme created paid opportunities for a number of Ways into Work’s clients.

Attendees at the diversity forum commented that the presentation demystified the process of making reasonable adjustments through the recruitment process and ‘demonstrated how easy it actually could be’. Our thanks go to Kier for their hard work in changing lives, one job at a time.

Watch the presentation here to learn about why supported employment is needed - especially in these difficult times - what the process is, how Kier built and adapted their programme to meet the needs of our clients, one of those being Mathew. Hear from him talking about his experience and his resultant job at Kier.