N o r t h La n a r k s h i r e C o u n c i l
Issue 7
Page 8
Training for Work
Welcome Back
S p r in g/ S u m m e r
2004
F E E D B AC K
James Grier
James has become a
familiar face at Airdrie
Library and he continues
to work very hard. This
placement has given him
the opportunity to learn
many new skills and meet
new people. Keep up the
good work James.
James Lilly
James has settled into his
placement with Housing
and Property Division and
he
is
continuing
to
progress
at
a
high
competency
level
undertaking a full range of
duties. James enjoys the
working routine and the
company
of
his
coworkers.
Issue 7
Supported Employment Service Newsletter
It’s certainly not ‘pie in the sky’ at Bells
When Bells first got involved in recruiting people with disabilities, they had no idea that within
a year they would be speaking at conferences and encouraging other companies to get involved.
Tommy McColl with Iain MacKenzie
Tommy McColl returns to work
after an absence of six months
following major surgery. His recovery has been remarkable, and
he has recommenced work at
Patak’s Breads in Cumbernauld.
Tommy’s home town. All the best
Tommy.
David Harvey (pictured right)
David’s training placement came to an end in October
2003 and he was then unemployed for a short period of
time. However his training placement did in fact pay
off when he was offered a permanent post following a
successful interview in March of this year.
David
started full time employment with Cleansing Services,
Motherwell as a Litter Picker on 15 April 2004. This is
the second permanent post within Cleansing Services.
Well done David, we wish you every success in your permanent post.
The Best Value Review is available in ‘Easy Read’ format on request—01698 332748
North Lanarkshire Council
Supported Employment
28 Muir Street
Motherwell
ML1 1BN
If you wish to comment, complain or compliment our service please contact us.
Telephone: 01698 332748
Fax: 01698 332729
Text Telephone: 01698 332730
Email: [email protected]
www.northlan.gov.uk
When Job Coach, Ross Walker first
contacted Bells Bakers in Shotts to
enquire about vacancies, the company
took the opportunity to address
difficulties they had in recruiting staff.
Jessie McVicar, Training Manager,
stated that the service “allowed us to
see potential that we were maybe
unaware of before, and we are delighted
with the way it has worked out.”
Working together with the Job Coach,
Bells developed a new approach to
training and learned how to recruit and
support employees with disabilities.
Bells now have two people working for them. Tommy, who works in
the packaging section and John who works on the production line.
Inside this issue:
Bells Bakery
1
Supported Employment
= Positive Outcomes
2
Advanced Windows
“Double tick”
3
New Devel opmen ts
(Menta l Hea lth)
3
EQU AL
3
Useful Website addresses
3
New Jobs
John Woodlock
(Photo courtesy of Wishaw Press and Advertiser)
4/5
Conference Report
6
Looki ng f or/Fou nd
Work
7
Traini ng f or W ork
8
John has benefited greatly from gaining employment. He has
developed a wide range of social skills, become more independent
and is now totally accepted at work as ‘one of the boys’.
The scheme has proved so successful that Bells were invited to speak
at a conference organised by the Greater Glasgow Network of
Supported Employment at the SECC
– something Jessie found daunting at
first, but, ultimately, very rewarding.
Jessie stated, "It was good to share
with others at the conference our
experiences of using the Supported
Employment Service at Bells Bakers.
Hopefully we were able to raise
awareness to potential employers of
the benefits, in particular the loyalty
and commitment our new employees
give to their work."
Tommy Holmes
Page 2
Issue 7
SUPPORTED
E M P LOY M E N T
=
POSITIVE
OUTCOMES
Page 7
Issue 7
LOOKING
FOR WORK
Hello! My name is Paula Sage, and I am looking for employment
either as an Office Assistant or a Catering Assistant. I am 24
years of age and live in Cumbernauld.
I am an enthusiastic and confident person, a good learner, and
have a great sense of humour.
Various ASDA stores
7 employees
We are delighted to report that
twelve companies have rated
Supported Employment so highly that
they have chosen to employ more
that one person within their
company. This is due to a number of
factors but mainly due to “the right
person being matched to the post”.
This is achieved by candidates
completing a vocational profile along
with their job coach, which ensures
candidates work in jobs and
environments that match their skills
and qualities.
Like Bells Bakery, companies
throughout Lanarkshire and further
afield are realising that Supported
Employment offers businesses
recruitment solutions.
Advanced Group (Scotland) Ltd
4 employees
Pataks
2 employees
standard of work and his dedication,
he has been promoted to the post of
Kitchen Porter. The input from the
supported employment service was
viewed as invaluable by Brewers
Fayre who stated that “Liam received
first class on-the-job training”.
Following Liam’s success Brewers
Fayre used supported employment to
Carroll who is employed as a recruit Ian Hendry who commenced
chambermaid, Express by Holiday Inn employment at Bellziehill Farm
recruited David Standard who is Restaurant in Bellshill.
employed as a kitchen assistant.
Isabella Little, General Manager at
Express by Holiday Inn said, “It is
important that employers recognise
the value of supported employment.
The benefit to the employer is that
they can tap into another labour
source and help the local community
by offering these youngsters an
opportunity to work. Both June and
David have settled in well and are
very much part of the team here at
the Express by Holiday Inn”.
The companies featured here have
been so impressed by the people
who have been recruited via
supported employment that they
didn’t hesitate in using the service
again and now employ two or more
staff.
Not only do they get an
employee who is matched to the post
and the free support of a job coach
but companies can save money on
advertising and recruitment costs.
Express by Holiday Inn are one
company who quickly realised the
Liam Higgins
benefits of the supported
with Job Coach Sharon McVey
employment service. Due to the
successful appointment of June Liam has been employed since
March 2001.
Due to his high
I have attended both special and mainstream schooling, and
achieved Standard Grades in Social & Vocational Skills, English
and Mathematics. I have also attended college where I achieved a
number of National Certificates, including ones in Art & Design,
Computer Applications and Office Skills & Keyboarding.
I have had several work experience placements involving both
catering and office work. However, my main employment has been in the film industry, when I was
cast in the lead role of the movie “Afterlife”, and worked on this over several months last year.
If you are aware of any suitable vacancies, please contact Supported Employment on 01698
332748.
CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations
Competition Winner
Featured below is Christopher Dewar
who won a £20 voucher for
Brewster's, Stepps.
Christopher
knew the correct answer was BLUE.
We’re in Good
Company
Some of the companies
involved in Support ed
Employment include:ASDA Aces
Beefeater
Brewers Fayre
Church of Scotland
Cumbernauld Theatre
Dept for Work and Pensions
Ian Hendry
Ian is a kitchen Porter in Bellziehill
Farm restaurant in Bellshill. Ian
stated “Work has changed my life. I
have made new friends and we
sometimes go out for meals”. He
also enjoys the fact that he earns a
wage and is financially better off.
Malcolm Binnie, Manager at
Brewsters had previously been
involved with Supported Employment
and did not hesitate in recruiting
Gerard Brown as a general assistant
within the Stepps branch.
Other companies employing two or
m ore p eo ple v ia Su pp ort ed
Employment service are Dunelm,
Tesco and North Lanarkshire Council.
Eastside Surface Catering
Congratulations to Barry
Comerford, who was seeking
employment in the last issue
of Feedback. Barry has now
started working as an
administrative assistant for the
Department for Work and
Pensions in Glasgow, where
he will bring his skills,
experience and enthusiasm to
the role.
Glasgow Royal Concert House
Heather Park House
Highfield Care
Job Centre Plus
PHEW
Due to the low level of interest in the
regular competition we have dropped
this feature.
Let us know your views on featuring a
competition in future issues of the
newsletter. Tel: 01698 332748
Poundland
Rawyard Care Homes
Support for Ordinary Living
South Lanarkshire Council
Shell Garage
Windmillhill Tavern
Page 6
Issue 7
Can you help?
When completing a
Vocational Profile a job
coach works with an
individual to find out
more about their skills,
abilities, likes and
dislikes in order to
identify a suitable job
match.
We rely on employers
to help us with this
process as some of
the people we work
with don’t know what
type of employment
would be best suited
to them and would like
the opportunity to try
different and varied
job tasters. These job
tasters can last from
half a day to two full
days. The job finder
will be accompanied
by a job coach.
If you are an
employer and are
able to offer us this
service,
please
contact:
Sharon McVey on
Tel. 01698 332741
or
Yvonne Hendry on
Tel. 01698 846306
Supported Employment
“Working Together” Conference
Feedback
Page 3
Advanced Group (Scotland) Ltd - Double Tick -
To celebrate the achievements of the
Advanced Group Scotland Ltd., and
the Supported Employment
Partnership the Advanced Group were
awarded the Disability Symbol by
Jobcentre Plus at the recent "Working
Together - Supported Employment
Conference" held at the Strathclyde
Hilton Hotel.
In March 2004 we were delighted to cohost this conference with our partners
NHS Lanarkshire, Scottish Enterprise,
Department for Work and Pensions, and
Careers Scotland.
Ian Bryson, Chief Executive, Advanced Group
Over one hundred people attended and
the theme of the day was people
working together to promote
employment as a real option for people
with disabilities or health issues. There
were a number of workshops that
people attended ranging from ‘Routes to
Inclusion’, ‘Public Sector Employment
Strategy’, ‘Disability Discrimination Act’
and ‘Access to Work’.
“Representatives from many areas of
employment sectors were present with
different client groups but the same
objective, so why are there still so few
people with learning disabilities in paid
employment”?
Liz Connolly, Chief Executive of Scottish
Enterprise Lanarkshire who was one of
the keynote speakers stated that the
North Lanarkshire Supported
Employment operation enables people
to become fully integrated in the
community by accessing real jobs, real
wages and importantly make a real
contribution in the workplace.
Overall, people who attended said that
their knowledge and understanding of
supported employment had increased
considerably.
The conference was
viewed as a very successful day. Some
comments were:
“A good range of topics covered.
Workshops set up were useful”
“Enjoyed the opportunity to meet with
other employers with similar
backgrounds and how to overcome
s i m i l a r
p r o b l e m s
i n
recruitment/training/working with
people with disabilities”.
Liz emphasised the point that through
the anticipated population decline,
Lanarkshire will continue to face the
recruitment problem unless we can help
more people of working age join the
workforce.
A full conference report has been
produced and if you have not received a
copy, but would like one, please contact
Margaret Wilson on 01698 332734,
üü New Developments
The symbol recognises employers who
have agreed to meet five commitments
regarding the recruitment,
employment, retention and career
development of disabled people.
The Advanced Group now finds itself
keeping illustrious company with fellow Disability Symbol awardees, such as, Asda,
Centrica and North Lanarkshire Council.
Ian Bryson, Managing Director of the Advanced Group is pictured with the award at
the Conservatory Village at their East Kilbride site.
For more information about the Disability Symbol, please
www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk. Alternatively contact John White on 01698 332744.
visit
Access Supported Employment
Initiative (EASEl)
Just to remind you that
the remit of EASEl is to
d e v e l o p
a
demonstration model
of good practice in
S u p p o r t e d
Employment that looks
at
gaining
group
e m p l o y m e n t
opportunities in large
m a n u f a c tu r i n g
or
service industries for
p e o p l e
w i t h
disabilities.
One of the activities, in
which
we
have
participated, includes
an exchange visit with
our European Partners
in the Basque Region
of Northern Spain.
This
visit
was
completed in October
2003 and in attendance
w e r e
t w o
representatives
from
the
Supported
Employment Service, a
consultant from MCM
Associates and the
Managing Director of
Advanced
Group
(Scotland) Ltd.
The
purpose of the visit
was to examine the
supported employment
operation within the
Basque Country and
learn from the best
practice
of
the
organisations that are
providing services for
people with disabilities
and develop these
ideas
into
a
demonstration model
of good practice.
An
implementation
plan
was
agreed
between
North
Lanarkshire
Council
and
the
Advanced
Group (Scotland) Ltd.,
in
January
2004,
encompassing
the
lessons learned from
the trip with a view to
creating six jobs for
people who use the
service by July 2004.
The
individuals
employed within the
Advanced Group work
with a Job Coach on
site to learn the basic
skills required to do
the job, for an initial
six-week trial period. If
this goes well then
each individual will be
given the opportunity
to progress to other
parts of the production
process and indeed to
other parts of the
Advanced
Group
operation.
As this article goes to
press, five people who
use the service, have
gained
employment
within the Advanced
Group since January
2004.
A Mind to Work
S u p p o r t e d
Employment is pleased
to announce that we
have extended our
service to include
people who have
experienced mental
health
difficulties.
Two new job coaches
joined the team in
January 2004 to assist
in the development of
this new area of service
provision.
For further information
on this new initiative,
please
contact
Margaret Gavan on
01698 332747
Useful Websites
Looking for a job using
Recruitment Websites
www.scotcareers.co.uk
www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk
www.s1jobs.com
www.northlan.gov.uk/your+co
uncil/vacancies/index.html
www.fish4jobs.co.uk
www.gisajob.com
www.glasgow.gov.uk
www.monster.co.uk
Need information on your rights?
Furthermore,
the
Advanced
Group
(Scotland)
Ltd.
assisted
EASEl
to
develop a business
solutions information
pack, and this is
available from the Muir
Street
office
on
request.
www.drc-gb.org
www.dti.gov.uk
How will you get there?
www.travelinescotland.com
www.multimap.com
Page 4
Issue 7
Page 5
Issue 7
CONGRATULATIONS
Gwen Gilfillan
Cleaner, Dunelm
Billy Kenmuir
Shelf Filler, Dunelm
Gary Falconer
Backstage Crew Assistant
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Barry Comerford
Admin Asst
Dept for Work and Pensions
Jonathan Canning
Factory Operative, Advanced Group (Scotland) Ltd
Paul Forrester
Factory Operative, Advanced Group (Scotland) Ltd
Congratulations to the thirteen people featured here who have
secured employment recently.
David Harvey
Litter Picker, NLC Community Service
Martin Graham
Forecourt Asst, Shell Garage
Donna Marie Shields,
Carer, Rowyards Nursing Home
pictured here with colleagues.
Martin Holmes
Shelf Cleaner, ASDA Aces
Alan Black
Production Line Operator, Pataks
Christopher Dewar
Kitchen Porter, Castlecary House Hotel
Christopher Lawrence
General Store Asst, Scotmid (Motherwell)