A new campaign aims to motivate those looking for work during the coronavirus outbreak.
A new campaign aims to support young people with learning disabilities and autism who have had their search for employment interrupted by the Covid-19 crisis.
The UK-wide Finding Your Future campaign will provide individuals with advice on how to find internships and paid jobs, as well as a range of motivational tools for those who have seen their job search put on hold during the outbreak.
It includes a series of online videos from industry experts, influencers and programme graduates in full-time employment, who outline tips on personal development for young people entering the employment market.
Gold Paralympian Rachel Morris MBE shared the first video as she officially the launched the campaign on Monday.
The campaign, a partnership between the DFN Foundation and the National Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Employment Forum (NSEF), comes as figures showed just 5.9% of people with special educational needs and disabilities secure full-time paid jobs.
Measures to curb the spread of coronavirus have also seen the suspension of many supported internships, interrupting people’s pathways to employment.
The DFN Foundation and NSEF believe the motivational campaign will provide individuals with the inspiration they need to stay on their journey to employment.
Claire Cookson, DFN Foundation CEO, said: “We’re excited to be launching the Finding Your Future campaign as a way to keep young people with learning disabilities engaged and upbeat during these times of uncertainty. Rachel Morris is a truly inspirational figure who has gone after her dreams and we couldn’t have a better role model to launch our campaign. We hope the campaign will allow young people on supported internships to focus on returning to their respective programmes in the near future whilst maintaining a positive pathway to employment.
“Everyone deserves the right to aspire to the very best future, and with the recent Covid-19 related workplace closures, many young people with special educational needs and disabilities completing supported internships have had their pathway to employment put on hold.
“This is why we feel it’s more important than ever to continue our commitment to enabling positive change and help motivate young people throughout the UK with learning disabilities and autism, so we can continue to transform lives. We believe that Finding Your Future is a fantastic way to continue achieving this.”
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