Enterprise and Employment for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

[Background] [Audience] [Programme] [Event Information] [Application Conditions] [Application Form]

Background

Many people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities want to work and have a right to education and training that maximises opportunities for them to achieve their full potential and lead fulfilling lives. The current economic climate and rising unemployment makes it even more important that there is access for all to effective vocational training and courses that will lead to employment, whether this be by competing in the open labour market or by creating employment opportunities through social enterprises.

Increasing economic participation through sustainable employment is a key priority in Learning for Living and Work the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) national strategy to improve education and training opportunities for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. These three conferences will focus on policy and practice relating to vocational training and courses and learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. They will provide an opportunity to reflect on current effective practice, and consider how this work will be carried forward and sustained beyond March 2010 with the establishment of the Young People’s Learning Agency and the Skills Funding Agency.

The aim of the Enterprise and Employment conferences will be to:

• provide an opportunity to share policy and practice developments that enable people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to progress to employment
• discuss arrangements to take forward the Learning and Skills Council’s Learning for Living and Work and Mental Health strategies
• present the 'Learning for Work: Employability and people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities report' compiled following nine regional conferences and the social enterprise research project.

The conferences will provide information on key national policy initiatives:

• National Apprenticeship Service and people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities
• The cross-government strategy Valuing Employment Now: real jobs for people with learning disabilities
• LSC Learning for Living and Work strategy and the Mental Health strategy
• There will be a range of topical workshops

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Audience

• Adult and Community Education services
• Connexions and Information, Advice and Guidance professionals
• Disability Employment Advisors
• Education Business Partnerships
• Employers
• Further Education Colleges
• Independent Specialist Providers for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities
• Jobcentre Plus
• Local Authority, particularly professionals with responsibility for transition and person-centred planning
• Regional and local LSC staff who have a lead in either skills or provision for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities
• Schools
• Supported Employment agencies in both the public and voluntary sector
• Work based learning providers

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Programme

09:30 Arrival and registration (tea/coffee available)

10:00 Welcome and introduction to the day
Chair: Peter Little OBE chair of “Through Inclusion to Excellence”

10:10 Keynote address: The Changing Context: Taking forward Learning for Living and Work
Julie Lynes-Grainger, LLDD and Inclusion Director, Learning and Skills Council

10:25 Keynote address: Valuing Employment Now
Speaker: The cross-government Valuing Employment Now team

10:45 Keynote address: Working with inclusion: the Employer’s view

11:05 Questions and Discussion
Keynote speakers and regional LSC representatives

11:30 Tea/coffee break

11:50 Workshops - Session 1 (Please indicate your choices on the application form)

1) Foundation Learning and support into Employment
Update on Foundation Learning (formerly the Foundation Learning Tier) and vocational provision.

2) Project Search
Project Search, an American internship model of training helping people with moderate and severe learning disabilities to secure and keep full-time paid permanent jobs, that is being developed in England.

3) Getting a Life Programme
An opportunity to hear from sites involved in the three year cross-governmental Getting a Life Programme about their progress in developing a multi-agency approach to support young people with learning disabilities 14-25 to go into paid employment and lead fulfilling lives.

4) A Job Well Done findings of a project looking at the role of social enterprise and social firms and the learning and skills sector
The findings of a project on social firms and social enterprises and their link to the learning and skills sector in supporting people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in to work.

5) Skills and Employment and people with mental health difficulties
Effective practice for routes into work and people with mental health difficulties.

12:50 Lunch

13:50 Keynote address: Apprenticeships and Inclusion
Peter Little OBE

14:10 Workshops - Session 2 (repeated)

15:10 Plenary session
What Next?

15:30 Close of conference (tea/coffee available)

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Event Information

Arrival and registration is at 9:30am for a 10:00am start. The event will end at 3:30pm

Event fee per person: £35 (includes lunch, tea/coffee)
NB: NIACE does not charge VAT on conference and course fees

If you wish us to invoice your employer we require a copy of the Purchase Order

Please note that the absence of a Purchase Order / Order Number will delay the processing of your application form

Only application forms with the payments section completed will be processed

Places will be allocated in order of receipt of completed application forms

Completed and signed application forms must be faxed or posted to NIACE by the closing date. Reservations by telephone cannot be accepted.

Application forms are individually acknowledged by e-mail. Joining instructions, including map and directions, will be e-mailed out one week before the event

Participants should be prepared to take their own notes as there will not be handouts for all sessions

If you have not received an e-mail confirming your attendance and joining instructions 4 working days before the event please contact:
Gurjit Kaur
Tel: 0116 204 2833
Fax: 0116 254 8368
Minicom: 0116 255 6049
E-mail: gurjit.kaur@niace.org.uk

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Application conditions

Event: Friday 13 November 2009, London
Closing Date: Thursday 5 November 2009
Invites attendees from the London, South East and South West regions

Event: Monday 30 November 2009, Birmingham
Closing Date: Thursday 19 November 2009
Invites attendees from the East of England, East and West Midlands regions

Event: Monday 7 December 2009, York
Closing Date: Thursday 26 November 2009
Invites attendees from the North East, North West and the Yorkshire and the Humber regions

Substitutions are to be advised 5 working days prior to the event

10 working days notice period is required for provision of electronic-notetakers, sign language interpreters and translation to Braille

NIACE reserves the right to reject applicants who are not from the target audience list

Places will be limited to 2 representatives from each organisation.

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Application Form