For many people with a learning disability, securing and sustaining paid work can often appear overwhelming and out of reach. Only 4.7% of people with a learning disability known to their local authority are in work, a statistic that has only continued to decline over recent years. At Unity Works our vision is clear: an inclusive world where people with a learning disability who want to work, can work. Whilst this vision isn’t without its challenges, working with forward thinking business is an integral part of our work in bridging the learning disability employment gap and creating unique opportunities for individuals to gain the experience and skills to propel them into their future careers.
One such partnership is that with The Felix Project, a charity that rescues surplus food from the food industry and delivers it to around 1200 frontline organisations and schools in London, and Greencore, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of convenience food. Over the past six months, both organisations have proactively developed accessible pathways for people with a learning disability across their London sites.
The Felix Project formally launched their six-month trainee placement earlier this year which saw two young men with a learning disability, Tomide and Israel, work at their Poplar site to gain skills and experience working as Packing Assistants in a fast-paced environment alongside staff and The Felix Project’s many corporate volunteers.
Unity Works played a key role in supporting The Felix Project to launch this programme. We created accessible job descriptions, adverts, and preselection of candidates as well as supporting in an accessible recruitment day. We then provided ongoing support to both new starters and to The Felix Project to ensure that they were supported in their roles.
Both Israel and Tomide quickly settled into their roles and by the time their placements had ended, they had both become integral members of their team even progressing so far as to support with the inducting and ongoing support of The Felix Project’s corporate volunteers.
Of his time on the programme Tomide said:
When I first even got the job here, I was really, really shy… but once I met everyone, my mindset changed and so did my confidence. Felix has changed me. It’s changed my mindset. It’s changed my vision. It’s changed my goals. It’s changed everything in life for me.
Wanting to build on the programme’s success, The Felix Project reached out to one of their partners, Greencore, and we are delighted to announce that both Tomide and Israel have moved into full time roles as operatives at Greencore’s manufacturing site in Bow. The involvement of Greencore has been fantastic, both in terms of the skills both individuals will learn at their established Bow site as well as Greencore’s openness to adapting their internal processes for people with a learning disability.
For Helen Smith, Unity Work’s Employment Services Manager:
This partnership has shown what is possible when organisations come together and provide people with a learning disability have the skills and abilities to excel in the labour market and show themselves as valuable members of the workforce. This Learning Disability week, I call on employers looking to make their workplace more inclusive and to offer opportunities as those The Felix Project and Greencore have.