Employment Opportunities For Disabled People

What do we do?The Supported Placements and Supported Employment Services (SPASES) scheme helps people with disabilities find work as well as helping employers find suitable people with disabilities to work for them. It is part of the ‘Workstep’ programme run by job centres.

We also offer support to people who are already working but have recently become disabled, so they can carry on working in their current role.

How can we help?The aim of the scheme is to help people achieve their ambitions. We help them go into work based learning, so they receive training and learn new skills while doing a job.

Who can you work for?It depends on your skills and experience. We don’t have a fixed list of employers that we work with, because we prefer to find out about you first, and then approach suitable employers to promote your skills.

People could work in a range of jobs and settings, including in our factory based units, Newpak Products or Stoke Workshops, when there is a vacancy. These are our supported employment services. They are run by the city council and employ people with disabilities, enabling them to develop a range of skills.  

We also find people jobs in other organisations, and these roles can be in retail, administration, factory work or manufacturing.

Who can we help?
You need to be over 16, live in Staffordshire and have a disability. Work placements can be outside Staffordshire though.

How do ask to get onto the scheme?You need to visit your local job centre and talk to one of the Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs). They will find out whether you qualify for the scheme. If you do, the Disability Employment Advisor will contact us to find out whether we have any places available on the scheme. If there are places, we will arrange to meet you at the job centre to discuss opportunities further.

What happens then?We will talk about what skills and experience you have got, including any jobs you have done in the past. We will also discuss what type of roles you would like to do in the future, and what you want to achieve through work and training. You can also tell us what support you would need to find employment, and then to be able to remain in a role.

This information is recorded in a document called your vocational profile. We use this profile to help us decide which companies or organisations may be suitable for you, and then we promote your skills to these employers.

Because we approach each employer separately, and some of these will be companies or organisations that we haven’t worked with before, the process can take a while. Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee that we will always find people a job by the end of the process.

Is there a charge?
There is no charge for using this scheme.

Other organisations that can help

Jobcentre Plus- click here to go to their website. Find your local job centre and benefits office. The Disability Employment Advisors are based at job centres and can help you get onto our SPASES scheme.

Hamilton Training Unit – this is part of the city council. It provides a realistic working environment where people who have learning disabilities, can develop a wide range of work related skills. It also offers supported work placements in local companies and voluntary organisations, and runs NVQ and ASDAN training courses, which are nationally recognised qualifications. Phone: 01782 236030.

Landau- click here to visit their website. Landau provide a supported employment programme for adults with learning disabilities, in Staffordshire and Shropshire. The Choices project is a programme of support offered by Landau Limited to people with Learning Disabilities aged 16 and above, who live in the Stoke-on-Trent area.  The Choices project can offer a range of opportunities, information, advice and guidance, the World of Work course, accredited training courses, and also a supported work placement and travel training.

Remploy- click here to visit their website. Remploy find jobs for disabled people across the country, in major organisations, as well as in its own manufacturing and service businesses.

The Shaw Trust- click here to go to their website. The Shaw Trust is a national charity that provides training and work opportunities for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market due to disability, ill health or other social circumstances.

New Deal for Disabled People – click here to go to their website. New Deal is part of the Government's strategy to help people on benefits get back into work. Part of the scheme focusses on supporting disabled people to find work.