Marvin OnumonuWestmorland and Furness Council is launching a pilot project to improve employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
Research found that in the area, only 2.4% of people with a learning disability are employed, compared to the national average of 5%.
This means around 97% of people with learning disabilities in Westmorland and Furness are unable to work.
Staff in Adult Social Care have started talking to people they support to hear about their experiences and what kind of work they would like to do.
The council is exploring a method called ‘job carving’, which involves working with jobseekers to identify tasks they can confidently take on and designing roles that meet their strengths and the council’s needs.
Joel Burchett, Service Development Lead for Adult Social Care Workforce at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “I think part of what work brings to people is a sense of being useful and being able to contribute to society.
“The last thing we want is for people to come in and feel like they’re not doing a real job.
“The idea is not to create a token job that doesn’t achieve anything.
“It’s to achieve the aims of the council, but in a way that supports a wider group of people to be employed by us.”
Councillor Patricia Bell, Cabinet Member for Adult Care at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “Across the whole council we are committed to working alongside our communities and reaching out to everyone.
“We have started this process by doing just that, engaging with people with learning disabilities that we already support, and it is clear from these initial conversations that there is a real desire to find employment, and a positive response to the idea of removing the barrier of the traditional job advert and interview process.
“Many people have something to give the workplace, and by dividing up roles, we intend to create meaningful work for people with learning disabilities.”
