Regular Able Magazine readers will know that this page is usually taken up by the Minister for Disabled People. Since our last edition, the then minister, Sarah Newton, resigned from the Government over disagreements with Brexit strategy and has been replaced by Justin Tomlinson (who held the same portfolio from May 2015 – July 2016). We look forward to his first column in our next edition.
Despite the current political turmoil government departments are still trying to focus on their day-to-day business. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), sent us the following news relating to disability employment.
Finding Disability Confident Employers
New figures show that more than 46,000 people have used a new search engine filter giving them a direct line to Disability Confident employers since the tool was introduced last autumn.
Jobseekers have been able to search for vacancies with Disability Confident employers on the Government’s Find a Job website since November 2018. Visit: www.findajob.dwp.gov.uk
Since then it has emerged that tens of thousands of prospective employees have taken advantage – evidence that there is growing demand for opportunities with inclusive employers.
Disability Confident is the Government’s flagship disability employment scheme which supports employers of all sizes to recruit and retain disabled staff. More than 11,000 employers across the country have already signed up, with the number growing steadily every week.
A recent survey found that over half of UK employees feel disability inclusion is the most important aspect of diversity that should be tackled in their workplace.
New Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Justin Tomlinson said: “Recruiting disabled talent isn’t an act of charity – it’s what smart employers are doing to get ahead of the competition. There are 7.6 million working-age people in the UK who have a disability, and many of them are more than able to work.
It’s no longer good enough for employers to make excuses. With the support of Disability Confident, your business can reap the many rewards of being inclusive.”
Helping job seekers to easily find vacancies with Disability Confident employers is part of a wider drive to ensure the scheme is delivering real job opportunities for disabled people.
The latest research shows that Disability Confident is having a significant impact, with half of all employers recruiting someone with a disability or long-term health condition as a direct result of joining the scheme, rising to two thirds for larger employers.
Able Magazine’s 25 years…
Back in 1994 the Conservative, Nicholas Scott was Minister of State for Social Security (Minister for the Disabled) (sic), a portfolio he’d held since. He was preceded by John Major and succeeded by William Hague: whatever happened to them?
