Staff from job centres across the region have come together to discover more about a pioneering employability service that helps people in South Yorkshire overcome challenges getting into work.
Aspire to Be, a specialist employability service managed by Doncaster Deaf Trust, is for adults from across South Yorkshire who are Deaf/hearing impaired, neuro diverse or those who have any other communication difficulty helping to make a valuable difference to their lives by developing their skills and supporting them into work.
The service, which last year received £465,000 from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to develop its provision, joined forces with job centres in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield so their work coaches could fully understand the service and make sure they refer people to it that can benefit from the Aspire to Be teams’ expertise and support.
Tina Rafferty, programme manager for Aspire to Be, said: “We were really pleased to welcome the work coaches from job centres across the region so we could show them what our service provided and give them a clear understanding of the people we can work with and how we support them into work. This ensures that when job centre staff are talking to their clients, they are aware of what we provide and if they come across someone that they think we can help, they can refer on to us.
“Aspire to Be exists to support people who are Deaf/hearing impaired, neuro diverse or those who have any other communication difficulty and who want to get out and work but are struggling with their confidence and skills and therefore to get the right opportunities. The people we work with are an untapped yet highly valuable pool of people who with the right support can be a asset to any organisation.
“We welcome enquires from individuals who think our programme may be right for them or professionals in the education and employment field in South Yorkshire who are aware of people who could benefit for our expert team. We also want to hear from businesses and employers who are interested in working with us from a recruitment perspective.”
For job centre staff who are unable to visit the site themselves, a new walk though video has been produced so they can see for themselves how clients can benefit from Aspire to Be and the service’s simulated mock work areas which include a hotel room, warehouse, shop, kitchen and café.
For more information about Aspire to Be please visit: www.deaf-trust.co.uk/employability/aspire-to-be/ or email: tina.rafferty@cscd.ac.uk