05 July 2007 - Help for employers to boost their ‘disability confidence’
A programme of events to support employers in developing their awareness of disability issues and to help them take advantage of the advice and services available from Jobcentre Plus, was announced by Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire today.
Realising Potential is a partnership project between the National Employment Panel, the Employers’ Forum on Disability and Jobcentre Plus. It is funded by the Government’s Office for Disability Issues and forms part of a wider programme of engagement with employers on disability-related issues. The project was piloted in March 2007 and the programme will continue until March 2008.
The project aims to reach a thousand employers through twenty two seminars taking place across the country. These events draw on the experience and knowledge of the National Employment Panel and the Employers’ Forum on Disability and develop the case for the recruitment and retention of disabled people. Employers themselves provide delegates with real-life examples of the positive impact upon their business of being ‘disability confident’ while Jobcentre Plus staff are on hand to present information about local services.
Announcing the project today at a conference in Hull, Anne McGuire said: “Many businesses already employ disabled people and are reaping the rewards. These events will help more employers to gain a better understanding of disability and the range of support that is available to them from Jobcentre Plus.”
Notes to editors
- Events will be taking place across the country until March 2008.
- The National Employment Panel is composed of top business executives along with public sector and community leaders. They provide independent advice on welfare and labour market issues to Ministers across Government.
- The Employers' Forum on Disability is an employers' organisation focused on the issue of disability in the workplace. It is funded and managed by employers. With almost 400 members, the Forum represents organisations that employ around 20% of the UK workforce.
- The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report, ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’, published in January 2005, set out the Government's strategy for disabled people. It included some sixty recommendations for improving disabled people's lives, focusing on four key themes: early years, the transition from childhood into adulthood, employment and independent living. The Office for Disability Issues was launched in December 2005 to drive this strategy forward and report publicly on the progress being made.
- There are 6.9 million disabled people of working age in Britain, one fifth of the total working age population. Fifty one per cent (3.5 million) are men and forty eight per cent (3.3 million) are women. Estimates are based on ''the number of people with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity, and who have a significant difficulty with day-to-day activities'.
DWP Press Office: Christian Cubitt: 020 3267 5129
For further information on the programme please contact:
Samantha Goldberg, Realising Potential Project Manager, 020 7238
0712 samantha.goldberg@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Out of Hours: 07659 108 883
Textphone: 020 7238 0788
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk