The 18-month project will employ a full time Supported Employment Coordinator to lead and coordinate work with local employers, schools, colleges, and support agencies to secure supported employment opportunities and outcomes. It will also break down barriers and perceptions of supported employment.
i2A, which is a subsidiary of Abri, secured £79,388 funding from the Hinkley Point C Community Fund, and £15,000 match funding from Somerset County Council for the project.
The funding will pay for 20 local employers/school/colleges/micro providers to train in supported employment techniques, where they will learn how they can provide opportunities for young people with SEND in their business.
The project forms part of Abri’s £15m Community Strategy, increasing employment, health and wellbeing, and community empowerment in key areas over the next five years.
Debra Scarratt, Head of i2A, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding and help young people with SEND find supported employment opportunities. By training local employers, we can break down the perceived barriers to employing someone with SEND and increase aspirations to work within young people.
“We’ll work in partnership with Somerset County Council to deliver this project. It will build on our successful partnership with the Local Authority to run careers support, information and guidance with our special schools in Somerset, through the sen.se organisation, and also on our work with the Supported Employment Forum.”
Dr Julie Young, Post 16 Advisor at Somerset County Council, said: “Somerset County Council’s Employment and Skills Education Strategy has a strong focus on raising the aspirations of young people with SEND to set their sights on employment as a realistic and achievable outcome. To achieve this, we need to work with employers to investigate and realise the advantages of offering supported employment opportunities. This project will not only support many young people on their journey into employment but will also help train job coaches and help local employers break down barriers and perceptions of supported employment, offering a wider range of opportunities for Somerset young people in the future.”
Val Bishop, Programmes Director at Somerset Community Foundation (SCF), who administer the Fund, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that in just three years we’ve awarded over £4m in grants including £79,388 to Inspired to Achieve for an 18-month project to coordinate and train job coaches to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities into local employment in Sedgemoor and across the whole of Somerset.
“The HPC Community Fund continues to support many groups and organisations’ projects to increase opportunity and improve the quality of life and wellbeing in communities most affected by the construction of Hinkley Point C, reaching smaller ‘grassroots’ charities as well as larger organisations.”
Community Foundations are local champions, connecting people and organisations that want to improve their communities. They invest in local people and organisations tackling some of the biggest issues facing communities today and supporting some of society’s most disadvantaged people. They provide help and advice to those who want to give at the heart of their communities, both now and in the long-term, by matching donors to important local causes.
For more information about Somerset Community Foundation and current funding available for local charities, please visit www.somersetcf.org.uk or call 01749 344949.
