TRICIA PHILLIPS

Finding work for disabled

A million disabled people can and want to work – but they are being shut out of the jobs market due to the attitudes and discrimination they face.

That’s the claim of disability charity Scope which has teamed up with Virgin Media for a new campaign, Work With Me, to support disabled people who want jobs.

Scope’s research reveals just half of job applications from disabled people result in an interview, compared to twothirds for non-disabled applicants. It also claims that disabled people typically apply for more jobs each day.

Mark Atkinson, chief executive of Scope, said: “We have a huge amount of work to do to tackle the disability employment gap. At the current pace of change, the Government is set to fail on its pledge to get a million more disabled people into work.”

One feature of the Scope and Virgin Media campaign is Support to Work, which offers disabled people in England and Wales help to apply for a job via telephone, Skype or text.

Employment advisers will look at an individual’s employability skills, help them to create CVs, and provide coaching on interview technique. The support can be provided for up to 12 weeks.

Tom Mockridge, chief executive of Virgin Media, said: “Working with Scope has been eye-opening and we’ve had to face some hard truths to better understand and address the challenges disabled people face.”

Visit scope.org.uk or telephone 0808 800 3333 to access the service.