LD Employment Task Group
Leeds City Council, working with partners across the city, has developed a strategy called “Being Me” which explains how Leeds is going to change the way people think about Learning Disability. (https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s174420/LLDPB%20Being%20Me%20Appendix%201%20Strategy%20Document%20060418.pdf).
The strategy includes 3 pledges: Being Well, Being Safe and Being Connected, each with a series of actions and areas of focus. One of the key headings under the Being Connected pledge is Employment, with some specific areas to focus on. In 2020, a group was set up with representatives from the Council, NHS, Department for Work and Pensions and a range of 3rd sector/charity organisations to co-ordinate activity across the City. This is called the Learning Disability Employment Task Group.
The work is co-ordinated by the Development Worker for Learning Disabilities from Forum Central, hosted by Volition. Members have recently agreed to set up 3 sub-groups:
- Virtual Hub. This group will oversee the plans to develop a virtual hub/website, which will collate all the known information and resources in connection with employment for people with learning disabilities.
- Employer Engagement. This group is responsible for targeting employers, in Leeds, with a view to supporting them to employ more people with a learning disability.
- Pathways and Skills Development. A gap has been identified, in Leeds, in terms of having sufficiently skilled staff to deliver programmes to support the various stages of moving into and sustaining paid employment. This group will look at how we can improve the levels of skills across the City.
For further information please contact: jez.coram@forumcentral.org