antiquity
12-07-2002, 07:39 AM
Jobfinder Â*Â* Publication Date: 06 December 2002
What job do you do?
Shock statistics make Disability Action job all the more important
By Jane Bell
Tony Carmichael talks to Anthony Mitchell, a stores controller at Bass Ireland THE POST: Training support worker within the training and employment unit of Disability Action.
THE POSTHOLDER: Tony Carmichael.
SALARY: Not disclosed.
AS many as one person in five in Northern Ireland has some form of disability, according to the charity Disability Action.
The startling figure was highlighted on Tuesday - the annual European Day for Disabled People.
To mark the day, Disability Action and its member groups presented a submission to MLAs "to get the issue of human rights for people with disabilities on to the agenda of political parties".
The high incidence of disability in our community is one reason why Tony Carmichael believes his work, and that of his colleagues, is important.
One of a team of six training support workers pro- vincewide working specifically with Jobskills trainees with disabilities, Tony's 'patch' covers parts of Belfast and North and South Down, with a caseload of some 60-70 young people, aged 16 to 22.
The trainees may have learning or physical disabilities, mental health problems or what are termed "hidden disabilities". There is a separate support service for those with sensory disabilities.
The support workers' key role is to support trainee and employer in a range of training opportunities from information technology, to business administration, retail, catering and trades.
Trainees work towards NVQs and many go on to employment after training.
"We receive referrals from the careers service, linking us with tutors within a training organisation, and we also work closely with parents," Tony explains.
"Around 80% of trainees receive accreditation of a qualification and around 45-50% of our people would be going on to employment after training."
This is Tony's seventh year in the job but he says: "It still feels fresh to me."
A typical busy 9am-5pm day would generally start off in the office.
"I'd maybe have a couple of benefit issues to deal with and they can be quite complex. Fortunately the Government protects many benefits for people with disabilities who want to participate in training.
"We do quite a lot of job- coaching or job-shadowing, working with a young person in their work placement which might take the remainder of the morning.
"In acting as a job-shadow, we relieve the people in the company, helping to direct the work skills and the social skills around the job.
"Training positions are very varied and individual and we might get involved in analysing the work and timetabling for the trainee."
And he continues: "The afternoon might be set aside for a meeting with a training organisation, tutor or careers officer, followed by a couple of visits to trainees at their workplace. That might be a monitoring visit or what we call a maintenance visit.
"We also deliver disability awareness training for clients and employers, which may be formal or a 20-minute informal chat, perhaps on a particular disability.
"Then it's back to the office to fill in case files and catch up on paperwork."
Supported and supervised by a line manager, Tony's day-to-day job involves a good deal of autonomy, but it's important to be organised and build in a degree of flexibility to cope with any crisis that might arise.
With changing attitudes and more and more people with disabilities coming forward for training, the inevitable outcome is heavier case loads.
"We try to provide a holistic service, right through from a benefits audit to job coaching to linking with the tutors providing the training.
"We evaluate ourselves and the young people and the tutors evaluate us. With greater numbers, inevitably our services are being stretched thinner.
"We are funded by the Government, through the Department of Employment and Learning."
Training and job opportunities for young people with disability is a growth area, Tony is convinced.
"Given the one-in-five figure, there are not many extended families in Northern Ireland without disability.
"As more and more people have experience of training placements, workplaces are becoming more relaxed in their approach.
"People are recognising that diversity can be quite dynamic, and that's not just a disability issue but also applies around gender."
And he adds: "But it has to be said that the Disability Discrimination Act has helped dramatically. I have worked in this field both before and after this law came in and it clearly has had a big impact, not necessarily in the enforcement of the law but just in its existence."
Married to Deborah, a bank worker, Tony's first, four-year job was in a music shop, but while it was close to his heart, he didn't think there was a lifetime career there.
He moved into youth, community and social work, taking a degree in communication studies through the University of Ulster, which he completed while employed by Disability Action with the voluntary organisation's support.
On-job training has included regular updates on the benefits system and law in relation to discrimination.
"Disability Action believes that work helps people with disabilities attain full rights as citizens.
"Our three main planks would be changing attitudes, support and inclusion, and influencing government policy, and I can see my work linking in with that," he concluded.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/jobfinder/story.jsp?story=359028
What job do you do?
Shock statistics make Disability Action job all the more important
By Jane Bell
Tony Carmichael talks to Anthony Mitchell, a stores controller at Bass Ireland THE POST: Training support worker within the training and employment unit of Disability Action.
THE POSTHOLDER: Tony Carmichael.
SALARY: Not disclosed.
AS many as one person in five in Northern Ireland has some form of disability, according to the charity Disability Action.
The startling figure was highlighted on Tuesday - the annual European Day for Disabled People.
To mark the day, Disability Action and its member groups presented a submission to MLAs "to get the issue of human rights for people with disabilities on to the agenda of political parties".
The high incidence of disability in our community is one reason why Tony Carmichael believes his work, and that of his colleagues, is important.
One of a team of six training support workers pro- vincewide working specifically with Jobskills trainees with disabilities, Tony's 'patch' covers parts of Belfast and North and South Down, with a caseload of some 60-70 young people, aged 16 to 22.
The trainees may have learning or physical disabilities, mental health problems or what are termed "hidden disabilities". There is a separate support service for those with sensory disabilities.
The support workers' key role is to support trainee and employer in a range of training opportunities from information technology, to business administration, retail, catering and trades.
Trainees work towards NVQs and many go on to employment after training.
"We receive referrals from the careers service, linking us with tutors within a training organisation, and we also work closely with parents," Tony explains.
"Around 80% of trainees receive accreditation of a qualification and around 45-50% of our people would be going on to employment after training."
This is Tony's seventh year in the job but he says: "It still feels fresh to me."
A typical busy 9am-5pm day would generally start off in the office.
"I'd maybe have a couple of benefit issues to deal with and they can be quite complex. Fortunately the Government protects many benefits for people with disabilities who want to participate in training.
"We do quite a lot of job- coaching or job-shadowing, working with a young person in their work placement which might take the remainder of the morning.
"In acting as a job-shadow, we relieve the people in the company, helping to direct the work skills and the social skills around the job.
"Training positions are very varied and individual and we might get involved in analysing the work and timetabling for the trainee."
And he continues: "The afternoon might be set aside for a meeting with a training organisation, tutor or careers officer, followed by a couple of visits to trainees at their workplace. That might be a monitoring visit or what we call a maintenance visit.
"We also deliver disability awareness training for clients and employers, which may be formal or a 20-minute informal chat, perhaps on a particular disability.
"Then it's back to the office to fill in case files and catch up on paperwork."
Supported and supervised by a line manager, Tony's day-to-day job involves a good deal of autonomy, but it's important to be organised and build in a degree of flexibility to cope with any crisis that might arise.
With changing attitudes and more and more people with disabilities coming forward for training, the inevitable outcome is heavier case loads.
"We try to provide a holistic service, right through from a benefits audit to job coaching to linking with the tutors providing the training.
"We evaluate ourselves and the young people and the tutors evaluate us. With greater numbers, inevitably our services are being stretched thinner.
"We are funded by the Government, through the Department of Employment and Learning."
Training and job opportunities for young people with disability is a growth area, Tony is convinced.
"Given the one-in-five figure, there are not many extended families in Northern Ireland without disability.
"As more and more people have experience of training placements, workplaces are becoming more relaxed in their approach.
"People are recognising that diversity can be quite dynamic, and that's not just a disability issue but also applies around gender."
And he adds: "But it has to be said that the Disability Discrimination Act has helped dramatically. I have worked in this field both before and after this law came in and it clearly has had a big impact, not necessarily in the enforcement of the law but just in its existence."
Married to Deborah, a bank worker, Tony's first, four-year job was in a music shop, but while it was close to his heart, he didn't think there was a lifetime career there.
He moved into youth, community and social work, taking a degree in communication studies through the University of Ulster, which he completed while employed by Disability Action with the voluntary organisation's support.
On-job training has included regular updates on the benefits system and law in relation to discrimination.
"Disability Action believes that work helps people with disabilities attain full rights as citizens.
"Our three main planks would be changing attitudes, support and inclusion, and influencing government policy, and I can see my work linking in with that," he concluded.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/jobfinder/story.jsp?story=359028