Workforce Equality in Further Education: Recruitment of staff with mental health difficulties in North East England.

To encourage and support all partner agencies in the FE/post 16 sector in the region to create mental health friendly working environments and support other initiatives such as Mindful Employer and Working Well.

To increase the number of staff with mental health difficulties recruited to the FE/post 16 sector in the region.

To contribute to the Mental Health Regional Employment Team's headline action: Work with employers ...to tackle stigma and discrimination and encourage people with mental ill health to take up employment and begin the journey towards work as a way to better mental health.

We will research current recruitment practice in the region and gain the views of people with mental health difficulties who have worked, or plan to work in Further Education.  This research will influence the development of the resource which will be presented as a PDF and disseminated online to stakeholders.

The regional Further Education workforce; people with mental health difficulties who are currently unemployed.

• A more diverse workforce in the post-16 sector in the North East Region
• Raised regional awareness amongst post-16 providers of the positive contribution that people with mental health difficulties can offer as employees.
• Raised regional awareness amongst unemployed mental health service users of the post-16 sector as an employment pathway.