Press Release
14th May 2009
United Response teams up with European partners to promote workplace skills
The national learning disability and mental health charity, United Response, is joining forces with five European partners to raise awareness about the skills and abilities of adults with learning disabilities and so make it easier for people to access work and training.
With the levels of adults with learning disabilities entering training and employment remaining low across Europe, the CODA project (Career Opportunities with Disadvantage Awareness) aims to provide people with a set of accessible online tools they can use to showcase their skills and abilities.
Led by United Response and funded by the European Union, CODA is a joint initiative with partners ESTA and IB, in Germany, MISCODE, in Portugal, EIfEL, in France and EUROTraining in Bulgaria.
Su Sayer, Chief Executive of United Response said:
"For many people with learning disabilities a lack of formal qualifications and work experience can often make it difficult for them to prove their skills on paper.
"Through the CODA project we want to encourage employers and trainers to look beyond traditional recruitment practices in order to recognise the talents and abilities that many people with learning disabilities have.
"This is a very exciting project and one which will benefit people not only in the UK but across Europe."
The CODA project (Career Opportunities with Disadvantage Awareness) is a two year project, funded by a grant of €299,402 (£268,927) from the Leonardo Transfer of Innovation Programme, part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme.
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For more information please contact Sarah Bartlett or Jaime Gill in the United Response Press Office on020 8246 5237/ 020 8246 5122 or emailsarah.bartlett@unitedresponse.org.uk or jaime.gill@unitedresponse.org.uk
Notes to editors
- The Disability Rights Commission states in its paper 'Ending poverty and widening employment opportunity' (Feb 07) that only one in ten people with a learning disability are in employment compared with eight out of ten able adults. Low levels of formal qualifications were cited as a limiting factor in people being considered for employment.
- Official statistics show that only 3.2% of adults with learning disabilities in Portugal complete secondary school and the unemployment rate for this target group is twice as high as the rest of the population.
- According to the 2005 Census, approximately 8,600,000 people living in Germany are registered as disabled ("behindert"). An earlier census carried out in 2003 recorded the level of unemployment among disabled people at 6,400,000. This compares with an overall unemployment rate of 9.3%.
- United Response is a top 100 charity operating in England and Wales, providing a range of support and services for more than 1,500 people with learning disabilities, mental health needs or physical disabilities. We employ over 2,000 people across the organisation and have won many awards for our pioneering work since being founded in 1973.
Our mission is to enable people with learning disabilities, mental health needs and physical disabilities to take control of their lives.
Our vision is a society where disabled people are equal participants and have access to the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
The services we provide depend on each person we work with. We can provide 24-hour support for people with profound physical needs, or just a few hours for those who need less support to live their lives. We can job coach someone into meaningful paid employment. We can provide outreach support for someone with a mental health need or help people who find it difficult to communicate by making information more accessible. The key to our success is that we work with each person to do the things they want to do, supporting them to communicate what they want and tell us how we are doing.
In support of our vision, we also campaign to improve the lives of people with disabilities in society. This may mean lobbying decision makers such as MPs to ensure that people’s voices are heard or it might mean working directly with disabled people so that they can be more directly engaged in the democratic process. We also work with employers to ensure that more people with learning disabilities, mental health needs and physical disabilities get a fair opportunity to work.
In 2008 alone, we were shortlisted as best employer in the Third Sector Excellence Awards and highly commended for our Annual Report. We also won a highly prestigious National Training Award for the investment we make in our staff.