Coronavirus (COVID-19) Notice
March 2020
In line with many organisations, our primary concern at this time is the health and safety of our staff team, the people we support, their employers and others who engage with us in our work to improve employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
Although we face an unprecedented challenge to the way we work and the support we offer people, we are responding positively and remodelling our support structures in order to reduce the health risks for our staff, the people we support and employers.
In line with government advice, we are transitioning the majority of our staff team to home working. We have remote software to enable this so there will be no administrative disruption. Post has been redirected and we are encouraging electronic communication as much as possible.
Community programmes
Educational programmes and internships
Obviously the pace of change is significant and makes planning difficult but we will continue to update our digital message as events dictate.
We wish everyone the very best of health
Keith Bates
Director
Sixteen Co-operative Ltd
March 2020
In line with many organisations, our primary concern at this time is the health and safety of our staff team, the people we support, their employers and others who engage with us in our work to improve employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
Although we face an unprecedented challenge to the way we work and the support we offer people, we are responding positively and remodelling our support structures in order to reduce the health risks for our staff, the people we support and employers.
In line with government advice, we are transitioning the majority of our staff team to home working. We have remote software to enable this so there will be no administrative disruption. Post has been redirected and we are encouraging electronic communication as much as possible.
Community programmes
- We have cancelled all community face-to-face meetings and continue to be in close and frequent contact as a staff team
- We are reviewing individual service provision on a case by case basis to ensure job seekers and their employers remain supported.
- To reduce person to person contact, we are introducing telephone and email support structures for many of our community programmes and are exploring how to move programmes on-line
- Although we have temporarily paused new referrals, we are exploring how we can continue to engage with new job seekers through weekly podcasts, video links and presentations
Educational programmes and internships
- We are working closely with educational partners regarding each of our programmes and will consider specific responses in light of government advice. However, wherever possible we want to support the young people we work with to continue with journey towards employment
- We intend to explore the different ways of engaging with interns, job seekers and employers in the coming weeks to-
- Support interns to investigate career pathways/employers on line
- Create job searching profiles on online platforms
- Use of WhatsApp, Skype and Messenger for Interview practice
- Practice phone interviews
- Utilise existing resources to support ongoing learning and employment pathway planning
- Explore creative ways of supporting the job searching process
- Support the redesign of the recruitment and assessment process for the new year
Obviously the pace of change is significant and makes planning difficult but we will continue to update our digital message as events dictate.
We wish everyone the very best of health
Keith Bates
Director
Sixteen Co-operative Ltd