Disabled jobseekers excel in lockdown

Disabled jobseekers are using their own experience to support other people with disabilities to help them secure employment after lockdown.

Through the Buckinghamshire Disability Service (BuDS) Reach4Work programme, participants are redeveloping a website to help people access important information about the local jobs market, so they can make informed choices about their careers.

Funded through SEMLEP’s Community Grants project, Reach4Work supports disabled people, or people with long-term health conditions, get back into work. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 6.7% compared to 3.7% for those without. Reach4Work helps people realise their potential and use their talents without barriers.

“In the last 4 months I have achieved more personally, then I thought was possible. I have newfound confidence and skills.”

“We’re teaching participants how to build a new website. Their personal insight ensures the design and content is appropriate to the audience. We provide mentoring and support them to share knowledge gained via the website,” Michael Broadley, Project Co-ordinator described.

Responding quickly to the lockdown measures, the project adapted to offer remote office work experience, embracing the challenges as opportunities.

“As we focus on developing IT skills, our project was already partially delivered digitally and was fully accessible at home using key software such as Microsoft Teams. For many of our participants, working from home is a real benefit. They can struggle to get out of the house and into an office. In the home environment, productivity can rocket.”

“When I found BuDS I had been unemployed for almost two decades. It was quickly noticed that I am committed, determined, driven and capable of many tasks.”

Understanding the impact that the lockdown has on the disabled community, some participants shifted focus to support isolated individuals, creating a new COVID-19 support project. The participants working on the project are helping to research, analyse and provide key information through social media - using their new skills to support people in similar situations to themselves.

“I have found nothing more rewarding or fulfilling than being able to help people and make an impact during the Pandemic. My family has been shielding, we are reliant on others for food and medical deliveries. I do not think I could have asked for the extra support I needed from society if I was not giving something back myself.”

If you would like to find out more about the work of BuDS and the Reach4Work project, visit: https://reach4work.org.uk/

If you have a project idea that supports disadvantaged people to move closer to work or training, you could be eligible for funding through SEMLEP’s Community Grants programme. To find out more visit: https://www.semlep.com/community-grants/