SES run their first Pathways into Employment session
11 February 2013
Our Supported Employment Service (SES) has successfully completed their first employment focused education course this month: ‘A Day in the Life of a Retail Worker’.
Deputy service manager Donna Morgans secured funding via Wokingham Community Learning Centre to provide six employment-focused education courses for clients covered under the Disability Provision of the Equality Act 2010, including carers and people with substance misuse issues.
The courses are focused on encouraging attendees to progress into further education and/or employment and to give them a taster of what different careers may look like through guest speakers. The last session was run by one of SES’ qualified tutors, Jo Harrison, and supported by job coach Simon Shaughnessy.
The first session was held on January 30, and was aimed at people wanting to work within the retail sector. Sainsbury’s PR ambassador Jemma Gooch, and Rod Smith, dry goods manager at Sainsbury’s superstore in Winnersh attended as guest speakers. They were happy to answer client questions about this type of employment path, and described the benefits of working in retail. They talked about their own personal experiences of working at Sainsbury’s, including the training opportunities they’d been able to take advantage of.
Jemma said “Sainsbury’s are really committed to helping the community and helping people into employment. We have enjoyed being part of this course, and we hope that giving people an honest overview of working in retail was helpful. We found it useful to hear different peoples’ views on what it would be like working in retail.
“Sainsbury’s has benefited from partnership working with SES; we have a number of people with a disability working in our Winnersh store, and with SES’ continued support we have successfully maintained their positions in the workplace.”
Over the course of the next five sessions, clients can learn what it’s like to be a gardener, kitchen assistant/porter, administrator, and cleaner/housekeeper.
For more information about joining one of these sessions, please contact (0118) 989 0500 or email: supportedemployment@optalis.org.
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