I am backing a scheme, Disability Confident, which campaigns to encourage employers to help disabled people into work. The Disability Confident Employer Scheme supports employers to attract, recruit and retain disabled workers. It helps employers by providing practical advice and tools and so far nearly 4,000 organisations have already signed up to the scheme.
I have undertaken this challenge to make employers in Fareham more inclusive, encouraging them to sign up to the Disability Confident scheme which helps employers open up their workforce to disabled people.
Disabled people make up a fifth of the working age population and our local employers could be missing out on a large proportion of the talent in our community.
Only 48% of disabled people have a job, compared to 80% of non-disabled people. Fareham has a large number of employers who can play an important role in providing opportunities for disabled people to find work.
Disability Confident is about creating a movement for change - getting employers to think differently about disability and to take action to improve how they attract, recruit and retain disabled workers. This involves business talking to business, with disability confident employers sharing their evidence and experiences with other employers.
I’d like to ask employers in Fareham to take part in the Disability Confident ‘30 day challenge’, which is about signing up employers in Fareham to the Disability Confident scheme during April 2017.
I hope this will be the start of lots more Fareham employers becoming Disability Confident and improved opportunities for local disabled people to realise their potential in the workplace.
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Penny Mordaunt said
‘I want to congratulate Suella for taking steps to create more Disability Confident employers, and helping close the disability employment gap . Unless we enable all of our citizens to reach their full potential our nation never will.
‘The scheme not only supports employers who want know how they can make their organisation more inclusive, but the Disability confident kite mark sends a powerful signal to disabled candidates that if they apply to that firm they can have confidence their needs and concerns will be understood and supported.’