What are we trying to achieve?

Our Aims are to develop service users potential within a sheltered workskills unit and to continue this progression by individuals working outside in the community whilst still benefiting within the provision of continuous support and guidance offered by Link-up job coach and support volunteers.

By providing this service we offer our service users the chance to realise their own potential and to change peoples attitudes in society.

Long Term Good?

When our service users with learning disabilities have successfully completed their courses most will naturally progress through Link-Up 2 * and onto using the services of the job coach through to LINK UP 3. Their vocational profile will be matched with a placement in the community with a local business /or charity.

Work helps us to develop as individuals and the opportunity to work is a high priority for our service users and offers them many benefits: -

• People gain higher self-esteem; employment promotes a sense of worth and achievement and a feeling of identifying with others within the workplace.
• A higher status; Employment remains a factor in how peoples worth in society is judged.
• Personal development; work enables people to learn new skills, enhance existing ones and improve communication.
• Increased independence; service users are enabled to do more for themselves.
• Increased social contact through making friends and gaining social skills.

Employment whether paid or unpaid offers benefits to employers and the wider community which are enormous:

• Our service users are a relatively untapped resource and receive positive ratings from employers and are often found to be dedicated, extremely hard working valuable members of staff.
• It is good business practice. Many employers` customers are people with a learning disability and employing this client group encourages a positive attitude amongst a workforce and employer customer base.
• It promotes social inclusion and tolerance amongst outside communities who often are unaware of the problems faced by our service users.
• It adheres to equal opportunities requirements under Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Link-Up 2 *

Newbury College tutors at Link-Up provide these courses. Once trainees have finished their college courses they may choose to remain at Link-Up but move onto Link-Up 2. This is working purely on work skills. Having moved on they can work with the job coach to try out job placements in local businesses and charities. Another opportunity is to work with our joint tenants at The Slater Centre` The community Project` on an Open College Network Course in furniture restoration. At the end of this course the trainees will be in a position to volunteer with them.

Link-up 3

The role of job coach

• We aim to develop the role of job coach to enable our service users to progress onto employment within the community.
• We need to expand and make sure the role is properly resourced.
• Assisting job seekers in developing skills to enable them to enter the workplace through training and work opportunities, the job coach sources placements/tasters through local business and charities, produces a vocational profile and matches this with job details.
• The job coach liases and consults with the service user, key workers, carers, parents, and prospective employers concerning the job/volunteer placement dealing with any issues should these arrive.
• Once successful the job coach fully supports the individual on a regular basis communicating between all parties, observing and giving feedback to all.
• Fully trained volunteers reporting to the job coach offering full support to service users, which may, continue for an unspecified time, leading eventually, to this support to being withdrawn leaving partial support in place.