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Access to EmploymentAccess to Employment Working with People with Learning Disabilities Working with People with Learning Disabilities

Newsletter Issue 4 Newsletter Issue 4 Access to Employment brings together employers and jobseekers. Our aim is to enable both parties to form a good working relationship. We do this by matching employees to the right paid jobs, and by providing one to one support through our team of support workers.

“We Work to Help You Work ”

My name is Ian Osborne and I work in Recruitment Services in County Hall. Part of my job is to talk to people in Devon to help them find paid employment with Devon County Council. The Council asks people to fill out application forms for the jobs that they are interested in doing. It does take quite a lot of time to do this and for lots of people is quite difficult. But don’t worry, if you’re having a problem you can e-mail me on: ian.osborne@devon.gov.uk. I can have a look at how you are getting on and make some suggestions about what you could say about yourself. It’s really important to have a close look at what the Council calls the “Person Specification”. This is a list of all the skills a person must have to be able to do the job. On the application form you have to write down when you have done an activity using those skills. It is ok to get someone to help you; it is very important that you give examples of all of the skills that the Council ask for, if you miss one out then your application might not go any further! Another part of my job is in talking to managers inside the Council on how important it is to employ people from all walks of life as lots of different people have a lot of different skills that can be really useful to the community.

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Vicky’s Success with Next

Vicky Price has wanted to work in fashion retail for some time and was really excited when an opportunity came up for work experience at Marks and Spencer earlier this year. Vicky was told that if she successfully completed the necessary training she might be in with a chance of employment. Vicky did really well and Carol, her Senior Support Worker was hopeful that it would lead to a paid job. Unfortunately M&S were not able to take advantage of the boundless enthusiasm Vicky has to offer and did not offer her a position. Although she was rather disappointed, she was still keen to pursue her dream and to try somewhere else. Carol continued to make contacts within the fashion retail business and Next at Exe Bridges, Exeter, offered Vicky a paid Christmas temp position after a very successful interview. Vicky is delighted with her job and works 8 hours a week with the possibility of more hours to come. It just shows that persistence pays out in the end!

Vicky

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I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A BIG congratulations to Matthew Croft, who now has two jobs at Sainsbury’s and Debenhams. Matthew worked very hard to achieve a Level 2 award in Food Safety in Catering which helped him get a temporary Christmas job at the Debenhams café in Exeter. The café in the Exeter Debenhams is one of the busiest in all of the Debenhams stores throughout the country. Matt’s job is to keep the dishwasher going and put everything away during the breakfast rush, at the same time keeping up Debenhams high hygiene standards. Last week the café was extremely busy, so Matt offered to help out by doing some overtime—Matt worked a total of 21 hours In one week! Matt’s employer says he is Doing Great’. We are very proud of Matt’s determination and enthusiasm and I’m sure he will be treating his fiancée to something nice this Christmas.! Letti Senior Support Worker

Matt

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Burts Chips (crisps manufacturer) have been long time supporters of our

jobseekers and the work of the Access to Employment team and have given

opportunities to our jobseekers in the past. When I first suggested working at

Burts, Andy was worried about it being a long way to travel but agreed to visit

with me and after the visit decided he would like to give it a try. I supported

Andy at the interview and when asked why he wanted the job he said "I love

working, it’s been my life long ambition to get a paid job".

I supported Andy for a number of weeks to learn how to get to and from Burts

by bus. Andy has been at Burts for over a month now working with the Packing

Team who are very friendly and supportive to him. I have job coached Andy with

his tasks which include stacking pallets, sweeping up and checking labels.

Stacking the different varieties of boxes has been challenging for Andy, but

this week he worked for an hour unsupported and I hope to reduce the amount

of support slowly until he can work completely independently – we have set a

target date of Christmas to achieve this.

Andy looks forward to his work all week, and is so proud to be part of Burts. His

parents are really pleased for him, and he continually says he is going to frame

his first pay cheque!

Helen McFarlane

Senior Support Worker /

West Devon

Andy

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Natalie Uphill has secured a paid job at the Albion Café, Exmouth with the help of Simone Shay a Senior Support Worker with Access to Employment. Natalie has been working Saturdays with the support of Aimee Booth also from Access and has learnt the skills required to carry out the tasks of table clearing, waitressing and using the dishwasher. Natalie receives the National Minimum wage, of £5.80 per hour for every hour she works. When asked about her job Natalie said—she likes working at the Albion Café and enjoys the money; she is putting her wages towards Christmas and also her birthday trip to London. Albion’s café manager Jean says that considering Natalie has only worked for 2 weeks(2 shifts) , she has gelled very well with the staff and is very obliging. “It’s a joy to find someone like Natalie who wants to work and is willing to do anything!” I would recommend to companies and businesses to give a person with Learning Disabilities a chance, as Natalie is a star!”

Natalie

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Mark Connett—a search for paid work Mark is a determined young man. Since leaving Bicton College near Exmouth, he has been looking for paid work. Intially, he worked in the Devon Air Ambulance shop in Honiton where he was very popular. However after gaining some retail experience Mark said: “I want to take a new leap , from voluntary work to paid work .” Felicity recently approached a new pet store in Honiton with Mark in mind. The manager of the store has agreed to give Mark a 4 week work trial with the prospect of paid work. He will be doing a variety of jobs including unpacking new stock, weighing out pet food and restocking shelves. Mark Hilder, a support worker will be trying the job first in order to be of more assistance to Mark when he starts work himself. Anticipating any pitfalls and possible problems is part of the job coach’s role. Looking for creative solutions and having achievable goals is also very useful. If the employer can see a planned structure to the service they are much more likely to offer paid work later on. The pet food store is also on the bus route, so Mark will be able to travel the 5 miles there by bus. He is looking to the new challenge. He says: “This sounds like my sort of place. I’ve got a dog - will they give me a discount on dog food?”. Watch This Space -

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Finding Jenny a Job. The Senior Support Workers View

By Shaun Kelly

I had found a job with Brend Hotels at “The Royal” in Bideford for Katy Forrester in June of 2009.It had proved a tremendous success so I thought I would go back to Brend Hotels in the hope that I could get them to make an opening for a second job seeker. This time I approached the “Imperial” in Barnstaple. I initially phoned and spoke to their very helpful personnel department to introduce myself. Of course I mentioned that we had Katy Forrester at “The Royal” and offered to visit them with some information if they could spare me half an hour or so. So a few days later, and wearing suit and polished shoes, I arrived. “The Imperial” is a champagne and canapé’s type of 4 star place so I felt right at home! I gave my usual opening lines to the nice lady from H.R. and although she informed me that they didn’t really have any vacancies at the moment, I did manage to get her to say that in fact the house keeping team could do with a little help at the weekend, and a paid job might be available, I was in ! I pointed out that our job seekers are very flexible and really needed an opportunity to have a chance such as this. I said that I had just the right person in mind, as indeed I did, promising to return with the candidate I bid farewell, hotfoot back to the office and the telephone! I phoned the person I had in mind, it was perfect for her Unfortunately she wasn’t interested! I couldn’t believe it! I sat somewhat crest fallen at my desk when my colleague and workmate Kevin Gummow said” What about Jenny? Jenny would be perfect for that job, So following his advice I phoned Jenny who was very interested. I met with Jenny a few days later to give her more details, then took her to the Imperial for an interview, somewhat dauntingly there were three interviewers, Jenny however sailed through and the job was hers! Jenny went to the staff induction day with a support worker from this office, Paul Haines. Jenny started work the following weekend and is proving a great success, she is enjoying the fact that she has paid work.

Jenny

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Pauline’s at Peck’s Patisserie

Pauline had been working for Access in Crediton for a while, keeping the place spotless. During a meeting with Eileen Johnston, senior support worker ,Rachel Hannaford Team Leader and Tom Prideaux senior support worker a few months earlier, Eileen had pointed out an article in the local paper show featuring the local patisserie company Peck and Strong, who had just moved premises from Exeter to Crediton and seemed to be growing fast. It was decided that the best course of action was to contact Mr John Peck and try to strike up a working relationship. After several ‘pop ins’ Tom received a call from John to say that he had a position arising on the pot wash and general cleaning front and did we have anyone in mind. Pauline more than fitted the bill! At the time of going to press Pauline was in her second week and is coming on well. She has a five day 30 hour week. Monday to Friday and is paid above the minimum wage. She has a 50 % discount on all the products that Peck and Strong produce and will be able to take advantage of the company pension scheme and profit sharing bonus. Her duties mainly revolve around the large industrial pot washing machine and are interspersed with rotational cleaning of various areas of the factory and staff rooms , initial problems with transport and work scheduling are all being resolved with relevant job coaching and generous support from John Peck.

Pauline

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Andy Denham - support worker

My name is Andy Denham and I joined Access to Emplo yment in North Devon a few months ago as a support worker for adults wit h learning disabilities. My duties cover a wide range of tasks which include me eting with job seekers , doing a vocational profile ( which is a form that c overs a person’s individual information and job aspirations) networking with em ployers and matching the two together. I have recently been supporting a housekeeping rol e at a local outdoor and team building activity centre called Skern Lodge wh ere I completed a four hour trial shift myself so that I had a better understan ding of the job and the amount of physical ability required to complete the task t o the employer’s satisfaction. I have been supporting a young lady in the role and another task of the support worker is to make sure the job is completed every shift to the required standard. A great job match has meant that I have been able t o withdraw virtually all support over a five week period with the confidence that the job seeker in question has improved every shift and is now consid ered a valued member of the team. We have great feedback from the staff at Skern Lodg e about the service we provide Finally , and by far the most rewarding part of the job, is to know that you’re playing a significant part in the lives of the job seeker and to see them develop, learn new skills and become a valued membe r of a team.

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How does Access to Employment work ?

You probably know the staff at Access quite well; you come to see us in the office to talk about jobs, we support you through job interviews and job coaching at work …

but you may be wondering who does what? There are three different roles at Access to Employment -

Team Leader The team leader manages the day to day running of the service; who needs job coaching and where, helps out when there are problems, attends meetings to discuss important issues that affect you and how we can improve services, such as Worklessness’ and ‘NI146 ‘meetings. Senior Support Worker You will have your own designated senior support worker, known as a ‘Link Worker You will talk to us about your aspirations and how we can help you achieve them. The senior support worker contacts local employers in your area and tells them about the service and how we can work together to get you a paid job. Support Worker When you start your job, your support worker will help you learn your new role and will stay with you at work until you are able to work independently. Both your support worker and your Link Worker will keep in regular contact with you and your employer, checking that everything is going well at work. If needed your support worker will come and give you some additional job coaching, sometimes your role at work may change and you might need some help getting to learn a new job or how to use a new piece of equipment Work trials ….I hear about them, but what are they? Interviews can be nerve wracking, a work trial is a practical way of showing an employer that you are capable of doing the job. Usually work trials are unpaid, it’s a bit like ‘work experience’. Except if all goes well there should be a paid job at the end.

FROM Exmouth What ever career path you choose to take, Access to Employment are there to help you along the way .

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What is National Minimum Wage (NMW) Most workers in the UK over compulsory school leaving age are legally entitled to be paid at least the NMW and all employers have to pay it to you if you entitled to it. It makes no difference: If you are paid weekly or monthly, by cheque, in cash or in another way If you work full time part time or any other working pattern If you work at your employer’s own premises or elsewhere What size your employer is Where you work in the UK You are entitled to the NMW even if you sign a contract agreeing to be paid at a lower rate, either of your own fee will or because your employer persuades or makes you. The contract will have no legal effect and you must still be paid the proper rate. Current NMW rates There are different levels of NMW, depending on your age. The current rates ( from 1 October 2009 ) are : • £5.80—the main rate for workers aged 22 and over • £4.83—the 18-21 rate • £3.57—the 16– 17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 If you are of compulsory school age you are not entitled to the NMW . Some of your other employment rights are also different. Nearly all workers in the UK should be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. Your employer is breaking the law if they aren’t pa ying it to you This information has been suppled by ‘Directgov’ WWW. Direct.gov.uk- Public services all in one place

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North Devon: Barnstaple

01271 377597

Exeter:

01392 682 086

South and West Devon: Kingsbridge & Tavistock

01548 853855

01822 617734

East Devon: Exmouth & Honiton

01395 225664

01392 682086

Mid Devon: Tiverton

01392 381 127

Editor: Kevin Gummow

Contact 01271 377597

Assistant Editor: Adrienne Russell