Employment Hub will support young people with disabilities
Warwickshire County Council has warmly welcomed the creation of a new Employment Hub to help young people with disabilities gain employment in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The Employment Hub at Hereward College, Bramston Crescent, in Tile Hill, Coventry, will help young people to source work placements, skills training and support in the workplace. It will also offer them money-management advice and training, benefit advice and travel training.
The Employment Hub, working in connection with the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, will also support employers with disability awareness training, analysing and adapting job roles and promoting good employment practice.
Warwickshire County Council business skills advisor Fay Winterburn said: "We are delighted to see Hereward take extra steps to build employer connections.
"Through our Business Skills Support service at the county council it is clear that an increasing number of businesses are now open to exploring work placement and internship opportunities with the college.
"The Employment Hub and additional services now on offer will most certainly support the college with employer engagement. We look forward to seeing their profile grow as an effective skills source and recruitment solution for local businesses"
"Having recently spent time with a number of Hereward students it is easy to see why the college's conversion-rate to permanent employment is so high. Their students are enthusiastic, dedicated and keen to develop. Why wouldn't a business consider Hereward students as valuable members of their workforce"
Paul Cook, principal at Hereward College, believes the Employment Hub will materially help secure permanent jobs for its learners.
“We believe this project will make a big difference," he said. “The enthusiasm shown by the employers we already work with is inspiring for us as a college and our learners.
“We currently deliver a supported internship programme as a way of achieving sustainable employment and we believe it is one of the best vehicles to have emerged over the last ten years.
“The Growth Hub, in connection with the CWLEP, is going to help us secure business mentors for our learners. We now have the network with the business community in Coventry and Warwickshire which has opened up new opportunities for our learners that we haven’t had before, so this Employment Hub is going to be a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved.”
Craig Humphrey, managing director of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Hub, said he and his team would be working hard to ensure this new scheme was inclusive to all.
“The Employment Hub will broaden the choice of employees for businesses and become a centre of excellence for young people with disabilities throughout Coventry and Warwickshire,” he said. “It will provide a one-stop shop for businesses and students of Hereward College.
“At a time when the economy has challenges, we need to open up career pathways instead of young people having a single-minded focus of going to university and not considering vocational training. Any opportunity should be open to all and having this Employment Hub means we can provide solutions to businesses.”