How your business can support young people with special educational needs or disabilities

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Dorset Careers Hub, in partnership with Dorset Council, BCP Council and The Careers and Enterprise Company, is inviting Dorset businesses to register for a 90-minute information event focused on how businesses can support young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) by offering employment opportunities.

Dorset Careers Hub supports 18 SEND provisions across Dorset and is committed to improving the careers prospects of young people who have special educational needs.

The 90-minute information event will take place on Wednesday 21 April. The event will provide an opportunity for businesses to learn how they can contribute towards a more inclusive and diverse Dorset workplace and workforce, whilst supporting young people with SEND and helping them achieve their future pathways.

The event will include:

• Support available to businesses and employers (DWP, Access to Work, Reasonable Adjustments, etc.)
• Opportunities for work-related employment training
• Case studies of SEND students and their experiences in employment
• Case studies of employers with experience of recruiting young people with SEND
• Q&A session

Cllr Andrew Parry, from Dorset Council, said: “We respect and value your time and acknowledge this is a potentially busy time of year as COVID-related guidelines start to relax. These events have been designed to only take an hour and a half, but that quick session has potentially significant results for your business. Plus, we’re hosting this completely digitally, so you don’t need to leave your existing work environment.”

Steve Williams, Dorset Careers Hub Lead, said: “Dorset businesses understand that young people with special educational needs or disabilities should have local pathways towards careers and independent living. Businesses know that it is rewarding in many ways to offer opportunities and support. The challenge is that they often feel unsure how to engage with schools to tailor their student engagement and work experience appropriately. These events will go a long way to provide clarity and confidence.”

Elaine Redding, BCP Council’s Interim Corporate Director, Children’s Services, said: “BCP Council is proud to work as an employer, and with other employers, to champion the value that young people with SEND add to the workplace. We are encouraging more employers in BCP and Dorset to offer work experience, employment and support internships to local young people with additional needs. Their contribution to their employers is immense.”

Registration is now open:

21 April 2021 - Dorset Careers Hub - SEND - Employer & Business Information Event

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Notes to editors:

Dorset LEP

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership is a business led private and public sector partnership, promoting local economic growth and prosperity. Dorset LEP deliver projects that support and develop infrastructure, housing, skills, enterprise and business growth to achieve long-term economic benefit for all in Dorset. 

For more information visit the Dorset LEP website http://www.dorsetlep.co.uk/

Dorset Careers Hub

Dorset Careers Hub helps young people in Dorset progress into promising careers and fulfil their potential by improving the careers education they receive via the national Careers and Enterprise Company programme. It is led by Dorset LEP, in partnership with BCP and Dorset Councils. Dorset Careers Hub shapes the future talent available to the Dorset economy by promoting growth industries and accurate economic information to schools and colleges, and by giving young people the opportunity to engage in meaningful ways with the wide variety of exciting business and career pathways available to them in the county.

For more information visit the Dorset Careers Hub webpage https://www.dorsetlep.co.uk/careers-hub