Organisation set up to continue Specialist Employment Support in Northern Ireland
With 32 years combined experience supporting the Deaf, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Communities in Northern Ireland, Alex Leslie and Laura Murphy-Sloan established AdaptNI as a response to the change of strategic direction of their previous employer.
AdaptNI has benefited from the support of the Go For It NI and Optimal Programmes delivered in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Council Areas. The Big Lottery Project supported with a new-start grant which will help the team secure technology and to ensure an effective and accessible launch, thanks to the Big Lottery Community Fund.
Alex said, “As experienced Specialist Employment Support Officers, we knew the support needed would not disappear when the current service ceased. We used this as our driving force to ensure there would not be a gap in service delivery and launched the day after the previous service closed. We are dedicated to ensuring specialist support continues and all the achievements are maintained and increased. “
Both Laura and Alex worked while setting up AdaptNI, a lot of late nights and weekends, but the goal was always to continue support and ensuring there would be something on 1st July 2022. There were a number of barriers along the way, concerned at some stages it would not work, they created a digital document with every link and piece of information they could find, to ensure their clients would have somewhere accessible to turn to.
AdaptNI has replaced RNID on the Supported Employment Solutions (SES) The consortium, comprised of: Action Mental Health; RNIB; Mencap; NOW Group; Orchardville, Cedar Foundation and AdaptNI offer a supported employment approach in the delivery of programmes to assist people with disabilities and health conditions to enter and stay in employment.
Laura added, “The past 12 months has been a very uncertain time. We have remained dedicated to continuing the support as we see first-hand the difference specialist employment support has in securing and retaining employment. We are grateful for the opportunity to join the SES Consortium, replacing RNID and continuing this vital support throughout Northern Ireland.”
The consortium delivers the Workable NI Programme, funded by Department for Communities.
In delivering Workable NI, each of the partner organisations offers specialist, tailored support to both disabled individuals and their employers, covering all areas, better together!
Would you like to learn more? If you’re a disabled person who is keen to explore the support available, or an employer who would like to understand more information on the Workable NI Programme or how to recruit and retain disabled staff; contact the SES team workable@sesni.org.uk or the AdaptNI team info@adaptni.co.uk
Press information below
AdaptNI CIC established on 1.7.22 www.adaptni.org.uk
The Workable Programme is delivered by seven disability organisations working together through the Supported Employment Solutions (SES) partnership. SES delivers programmes to assist people with disabilities and health conditions to enter and stay in employment. The Workable Programme is funded by the Department for Communities.
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