Mutually Inclusive Partnerships brings together a number of social enterprises, programmes and initiatives specifically designed to respond to the challenges of creating more and better employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
Central to our work is the belief that people with learning disabilities can and do make great employees, colleagues and entrepreneurs and that through innovative and practical solutions that build the support infrastructure needed support more people into work we can challenge the perceptions of disability and unemployment.
1 – Sixteen is a co-operative social enterprise set up in 2011 to bring evidence based supported employment services to people with a learning disability interested in finding paid employment.
Our aim is to create a sustainable financial model that delivers high quality job coaching and supports the majority of people into paid employment of over 16 hours, at which point research suggests they will be significantly better off.
2 – Boss Employment CIC works to promote the employment of people with learning disabilities by provide information, support and guidance to enable people to navigate the sometimes complex work of employment support.
We aim to raise expectation and aspirations of work and to increase the understanding and availability of good quality employment support. We work with people with learning disabilities, their families and others that support them to ensure they have the best information about getting and keeping a job.
3 – RED (Rapid Enterprise Development) works across the UK and Australia to promote the take up of self-employment and small business ownership by removing the myth of business development.
This work is mainly organised around our workshops. The offer an interactive and accessible approach to building the skills and capacity available to support people interested in exploring the enterprise route to work. They can be accessed as stand-alone training and to raise awareness but are particularly effective when used as a part of a strategic development programme.
4 – When I grow up was a four-year programme run by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities which aimed to increase work expectations, aspirations and opportunities for students with learning disabilities. The programme developed a number of resources that we use to inform the way we work with young people and as a starting point for a conversation about work.
The programme is delivered as a series of 10 workshops which are designed to supplement the existing employment-focused activity at school, while also developing a conversation with families and engagement from employers. A work profile is completed capture individual skills, qualities, preferences and support needs.
