Workable Project Description
North West Regional Centre Manager
In 1998, I was asked to co-ordinate the establishment and expansion of a specialist work experience and employment Centre in Manchester, England for disabled undergraduate/graduate students studying at a Greater Manchester higher education institution or a higher education university based in the North West of England.
In the 1990s Workable UK was a significant initiative and national charity-supported program primarily focused on helping disabled students and young people transition from education into employment.
While often associated with wider vocational training our main focus was on supporting undergraduate students. Our services included:
-Supported employment initiatives: Our Centres provided a “bridge” for students completing their courses, helping higher education students to navigate the process of securing and sustaining graduate-level or vocational jobs. We held charity awareness raising events at different venues including The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, and The Business Disability Forum (BDF), London formally known as the Employers Forum on People with Disabilities (EFOD).
-Work experience placements: During the 1990s there was a major shift toward embedding work experience into undergraduate degrees to improve employability prospects after a student graduated. Workable facilitated these links by offering practical advice and communication support for interviews.
-Skills and confidence building: For students with neurodiversity and learning disabilities the program we provided included additional one-to-one support to build literacy, soft skills, and workplace confidence.
-Employer partnerships: We worked directly with employers to arrange adaptations to premises and/or provide bespoke adjustments through trusted suppliers ensuring the workplace was accessible for undergraduate and graduate students.
-Individual and group-based drop-in training sessions for disabled students and graduates seeking work based from my office in Manchester or other local venues including Manchester United Football Club Arena/Stadium at Old Trafford, Manchester, and nationally at The Royal College of Music, South Kensington, London.
While I was the North West Regional Centre Manager of Workable I also oversaw and lead on a European partnership project titled Workable Centre Network (WCN) - Europe. A project which provided more than half a dozen European project partners from across Europe working out of higher education universities, rehabilitation centres, or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the tools and blueprints to replicate a version of my Workable North West Regional Centre, Manchester in their home countries.
Today
The work of the UK charity Workable originating in the nineties continues to thrive today across Europe, through the partnerships initially brought together by our Workable Centre Network (WCN)-Europe project. I am proud that I and my colleagues lead on this initiative from my North West Regional Centre in Manchester, England, and the direct and indirect outcomes past and present that have come from our work.