When it comes to a job well done few can match Wigan Council’s Supported Employment service. Based at Ince Town Hall, this 24-strong team is giving people in our borough the support to find the jobs they want.
Supported Employment helps people with learning disabilities and complex needs to gain and sustain paid work, and feel the sense of pride and dignity that comes with it. Through a network of disability employment advisors based at job centres across the borough, this is a service that really is changing lives and as a result has been rated as one of the best of its kind in the country by Government watchdog Ofsted.
Team Manager Mark Glover explains: “We are helping people to reach their full potential by introducing them to employment with the right levels of support. We aim towards identifying the correct job match, so that they gain jobs that they want to do and local employers get the right person for their business”.
Borough Life spoke to two successful graduates of the Supported Employment team’s programme and some of the people who have helped them along the way.
Jacob's helper
Mentor and guardian Rebecca Taylor with eight year old Jacob Houghton at Landgate School Eight year-old Jacob Houghton has clearly stolen everyone’s heart at Landgate School. Landgate is a special place that nurtures children with autism, encouraging their development, allowing them to grow and eventually realise their full potential.
Like many of the school’s 43 pupils, Jacob needs the constant care of a teaching assistant to guide him through the school day. In Jacob’s case, his mentor and guardian Rebecca Taylor shares a special affinity with her young charge. The 32 year-old from Worsley Mesnes is fully qualified in childcare and has years of experience under her belt. She also has Asperger’s Syndrome – a form of the same condition that Jacob has.
Rebecca has been a valued member of staff at the school for the past two years, working her way from volunteer to lunchtime helper to full-time teaching assistant. She and the school were brought together by the Supported Employment service and it’s proved to be a perfect match. In her early days at the school, Rebecca was herself supported by employment training adviser Beverley Thilwind.
Beverley said: “Within a month she began to blossom and I quickly found out I wasn’t really needed. We could not be happier with how much she has come on.”
Landgate’s head Susan Hardman said: “Rebecca’s a real asset to the school. She’s a dedicated member of staff and also a role model to our pupils. We’d like to think that one day some of our pupils will be using the Supported Employment service in the same way Rebecca has.” The school has since gone on to take on another member of staff from the service.
Rebecca said her job was a dream come true. “It’s not something I thought I’d be able to do until I found Supported Employment,” she says. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and Beverley and the team have got me here. My advice to anyone who is thinking about taking a step like this is just do it. It really can change your life.”
Kimberley's progress
Super typist Kimberley Smalley at work in the council's Environmental Services Department with her supporter Kerry Claxton
Kimberley Smalley can type! Lightning fast, she doesn’t even need to look at the screen. When it comes to keyboard skills, she’s a natural.
And now the 20 year-old is putting this phenomenal skill to good use as a data inputter at Hindley Town Yard. Working for the council’s Environmental Services Department is a new role for Kimberley. But much to the delight of her parents Ken and Dorothy Smalley, it’s one she’s really taking to.
Kimberley, from Hindley, has a learning disability and mobility problems but that hasn’t stopped her. The part time post is her second job after a previous stint at Leigh County Court.
Dad Ken, who is co-chair of the borough’s Learning Disability Board, said: “We wanted her to have a meaningful job, one that would give her a sense of independence and self-worth. I don’t think we would have been able to do this without the Supported Employment service. This team works really hard to get the best for young people in their final year of education. “They sat down with our daughter to decide what her hopes and aspirations were and what skills she has. They went out and found the right employer to match what Kimberley wanted.
“It gives us a lot of pride to see how well Kimberley has done and we know it can work for other people as well. There may be parents who wonder whether it is the right thing for their child but the only way to find out is to give it a go."
The Supported Employment team are always on the look out for local employers to become partners with the service and ensure that job opportunities exist for all. If you are a local employer and would like more information on the Supported Employment service please contact manager Mark Glover or employer engagement officer Nigel Shields on 01942 828439.
