MOST workplaces claim to be inclusive – but how many offer opportunities for the most vulnerable in society?
Next week is National Inclusion Week and a number of firms have launched internships to support young people with learning disabilities or difficulties.
Currently, fewer than five per cent of young people with learning problems go on to secure paid employment once their education finishes, compared to 80 per cent of their peers.
To combat this, the innovative internships offer tuition and help in industries including hospitality and retail, allowing students to gain vital skills, find jobs and live more independently.
Hospitality company Whitbread’s already well- established Thrive scheme helps young learners with special educational needs train for industry roles, through work experience.
Now the firm is expanding the scheme to get 100 supported young interns into paid employment each year.
This will see Premier Inn team up with Lincolnshire County Council and The Liverpool City Region to offer training through local colleges.
Students will study all areas of hospitality and, through work experience under the guidance of job coaches, aim to move on to paid employment placements with Premier Inn.
Skills they will learn include guest relations and housekeeping — which also supports the students to live independent lives.
Simon Ewins, Premier Inn MD, says: “Our hotel teams are absolutely raring to welcome the new learners on to sites across the North West and Lincolnshire.”
Cllr Mrs Patricia Bradwell OBE, executive member for children’s services at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We want to help all local children get a good start in life.
“This new partnership will provide our learners with valuable work experience and provide a route into employment, helping them develop their independence.
“We look forward to seeing the real difference it will make to our learners’ lives.”
The scheme is open to young people with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and, to date, all of the learners who wanted a Premier Inn job were offered permanent roles with the hotel chain.
You can find out more at whitbread.co.uk/sustainability/opportunity/thrive-programme.
Another firm stepping up is Asda.
The supermarket giant is expanding its successful Supported Internship Programme to offer year-long work experience placements to more than 70 students with learning disabilities or difficulties.
Working with the charity DFN Project Search, 11 stores will take part in the programme.
Trainees will wear bespoke uniforms, including T-shirts and fleeces carrying the message: “Happy to help — please bear with me, I’m learning.”
Hayley Tatum, Asda’s Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer, says: “We’re delighted to promote more accessible pathways into paid employment within retail.
“We’re continuing to improve our support to young people and ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and experience which they need to gain future employment.”
Carmel McKeogh, Interim Chief Executive of DFN Project Search, adds: “Asda is not only changing the lives of more young people, it is also setting an inspiring example for other businesses and positively impacting the local communities they serve.”
MARY WOODALL studied with Premier Inn’s Thrive programme ten years ago, at Derwen College in Shropshire.
Now aged 32, Mary is a Reception Team Member at Greenwich Premier Inn, in South East London.
She says: “It’s not easy for people with disabilities to get into paid employment but these programmes give opportunity.
“The course helped me learn everything from checking people in, to brand standards, and my confidence with speaking to guests has grown.
“Since then, I’ve been given amazing opportunities, taking part in the Premier Inn’s Rest Easy advert which was one of the highlights of my career.
“I’ve also spoken about my work experience in the scheme, in front of 3,000 people at one of Whitbread’s events. I felt like royalty.
“I’ve made lots of friends through working with Premier Inn and couldn’t be happier.
“I hope this Thrive programme helps bring up the percentage of disabled people getting into paid employment.
“I hope more disabled people get an opportunity like me.”
AMAZON has ordered staff back to the office full-time but research from career networking app LinkedIn shows hybrid working is on the rise.
While seven in ten firms require employees to be on site for at least some of the week, 38 per cent of UK job postings are listed as hybrid and ten per cent fully remote.
While the study revealed a six per cent drop in hiring for fully remote roles, small firms showed a 2.3 per cent increase.
Janine Chamberlin, UK Country Manager at LinkedIn, said: “It’s important to balance the benefits of in-person working with flexibility.
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all. Certain projects lend themselves to in-person collaboration, while others require isolated thinking.”
AS the nights draw in, three in five workers are dreaming of working overseas.
While the primary motivation is quality of life, a third want better weather while 54 per cent claim they would be paid more in a new country.
But the report from jobs platform Indeed found 47 per cent of workers say their company does not allow overseas work, while 42 per cent claim they firm has no policy on the matter.
Indeed’s Pawel Adrjan said: “As borders become less relevant for workers, businesses and states must offer not only competitive salaries but also attractive living conditions, healthcare and education, and political and economic stability.”
FOUR in five people promoted to management have no formal training – but staff with bad bosses are twice as likely to quit their jobs.
If you have become an “accidental manager”, how can you improve your skill set?
Today is World Manager Day, so here Anthony Painter, director of policy at the Chartered Management Institute, shares his tips . . .
CLOTHING chain FLANNELS is hiring for sales assistants and supervisors. Search at frasers.group/careers/jobs.
A BAFTA-nominated TV executive was among seven paedophiles spared jail yesterday — amid ongoing outcry over News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards’ lenient sentence.
The sex offenders followed the disgraced BBC broadcaster in walking free from court despite committing perverted crimes against children.
They were caught with 3,521 child abuse images between them — with 1,078 in the worst Category A.
Three-time British Soap Award winner Lee Salisbury, 46, asked a teen boy intimate questions in sexualised messages.
The exec worked on Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Holby City and EastEnders, and bragged about working with pop star Harry Styles and “seeing him naked on several occasions”.
Salisbury, of Bradford, West Yorks, admitted charges at the city’s crown court, but his 12-month jail term was suspended, leaving him free.
It comes as MPs and campaigners question whether the suspended six-month sentence given to Edwards, 63, for having 41 indecent images of children was too lenient.
Last night Reform chairman Zia Yusuf slammed it as another example of “two-tier justice”, during our Never Mind The Ballots show on YouTube.
He said: “The fact he will not serve a day in prison is beyond unacceptable.” Yesterday, James House, 41, of Hemel Hempstead, Herts, got a suspended sentence at St Albans magistrates’ court, for sex chats with a police decoy he thought was aged 13.
Trainee teacher Kurtis Pope, 23, also received a suspended sentence at Southampton crown court for having 458 extreme porn images and a Category B video of a young girl.
James McPherson, 27, of Solihull, West Mids, had over 1,000 images of children as young as two, which he paid for. He got a three-year community order at Birmingham crown court.
John Pinches, 27, of Sandbach, Cheshire, who had 652 Category A pictures in a stash of 2,170 images, also avoided jail time with a suspended sentence at Preston magistrates’ court.
Lancaster JPs allowed David Searle, 36, of Heysham, Lancs, to walk free, despite cops finding a sickening image of an eight-year-old being raped on his phone.
Another suspended sentence was given.
Guildford magistrates heard electronics engineer Colin Oliver, 53, of Camberley, Surrey, made 85 Category B and 78 Category C images. He got a community order.
PAEDOPHILES are getting softer sentences as the criminal justice system struggles to deal with the rise in offenders, a legal expert has warned.
Judges previously jailed those caught with indecent pictures of children, but many now get suspended sentences or community orders instead.
Past high-profile cases include The Thick Of It star Chris Langham, who was convicted on 15 counts of downloading indecent images of children.
Langham, 75, was jailed for ten months in 2007, later reduced to six months. But jail time for paedos is now rare.
Marcus Johnstone, a leading sexual offences law expert at PCD Solicitors, said: “Indecent images are readily available online, so there has been an exponential increase in people accessing them. Because of the volume of cases, sentencing has had to get lighter, as the system cannot cope.
“There is also a two-tier system. Those with money who can afford good legal representation like Huw Edwards will almost never go to prison.”
The Sun demands anyone caught with Category A images is jailed, as part of our Keep Our Kids Safe campaign.
Sexual violence charity SurvivorsUK yesterday said: “Research indicates perpetrators of child abuse offences have a high potential for reoffending.
“A suspended sentence does not always provide the necessary deterrent, or the adequate treatment, to ensure offenders are rehabilitated.”
ARSENAL are taking on Atalanta RIGHT NOW as they open their 2024/25 Champions League campaign.
Early in the second half, David Raya made a superb double-save to deny the hosts the lead after a controversial penalty was awarded.
Declan Rice was suspended for the Gunners’ 1-0 North London derby win against Tottenham last time out, but the midfielder returned for his side’s European opener.
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Hello This post Despite armoured tanks surrounding ex- Governor, Edolites will express themselves on Saturday was first posted on Naijaonpoint.com.ng and is written by naijaonpoint.
The Edo election has been won by the people of Edo State despite the machinations of hostile forces trying to use security and other agencies of the Federal Government to thwart them, Dr Pedro Obaseki, the deputy director-general of the Asue Ighodalo Campaign has said. Advertisement Obaseki who spoke in an interview late on Thursday […]
Hello This post Despite armoured tanks surrounding ex- Governor, Edolites will express themselves on Saturday was first posted on Naijaonpoint.com.ng and is written by naijaonpoint.
REAL MADRID superstar Jude Bellingham has received a massive pay rise following the arrival of Kylian Mbappe at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mbappe, 25, joined Real as a free agent following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain this summer and quickly became the club’s top earner at a staggering €15million (£12.6m) per year.
The star forward overtook Bellingham, 21, and Vinicius Junior who were joint top on the salary list as they made a whopping €10m (£8.4m) per season.
According to OK Diario, however, club chiefs feared the €5m (£4.2m) difference would create friction between the three stars in the dressing room.
That is why Real president Florentino Perez decided to match all three of their wages by giving Bellingham and Vinicius a significant raise.
Now they are all on €15m, which is the most anyone has ever earned in Madrid.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard also received the same amount during their time with Los Blancos.
Bellingham set the world alight last season during his debut campaign with Real.
The star midfielder amassed an impressive total of 23 goals and 13 assists in 42 appearances.
The England international didn’t have an ideal start to this season as he suffered a muscle injury in August.
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That led to Bellingham missing out on Lee Carsley’s first matches in charge of the Three Lions as interim manager in the Nations League.
But the ex-Borussia Dortmund star returned to action on Tuesday in the Champions League and helped Real beat Stuttgart 3-1 in Spain.
Mbappe already counts five goals in seven appearances across all competitions for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Bandits have freed the
Michael Blackson has issued an apology for his earlier remarks blaming Ghana as a whole for issues surrounding his Eurobond investment. In a post on X, the comedian expressed regret for his choice of words, clarifying that his frustration stemmed from the situation happening to him in Ghana, a country he holds dear. “I want ... Read more
The post Michael Blackson Apologizes For Criticizing Ghana Over Eurobond Investment Issues appeared first on GhanaCelebrities.Com.
DAVID RAYA pulled off a miraculous double save to prevent Arsenal from falling behind to Atalanta.
The goalkeeper first saved a penalty before springing back to his feet to keep out the rebound.
DAVID RAYA, TAKE A BOW!
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 19, 2024
One of the best double saves you'll ever see@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/sPgZF293QI
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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