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Meet Tom—find out how he helped Joseph gain valuable work experience.

Disability Confident

Giving people with disabilities the work experiences they’re looking for

Work experience brings multiple benefits to any young person. They can explore career options, develop work-related skills and build their self-confidence. For thousands of people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and autism, meaningful work experience is often out of reach.

  • Sainsbury's Paignton

An alternative to the CV: focusing on the future

Sainsbury’s Paignton is a great example of where a Manga Vitae was used to offer Joseph important work experience. The Magna Vitae is an alternative CV for people with significant gaps in their employment history. The layout gives people the opportunity to move on from their past and focus upon their future. Gaps in employment are explained honestly and difficult life experiences openly shared. Here’s Tom’s story of how he helped Joseph gain valuable work experience. You can also watch Tom’s story and hear from Joseph too.

“We wanted to give Joseph the skills, experience and understanding of what it’s like working in the real world. We wanted to give him independence and the opportunity to work with people in the retail industry. To understand a trade, and experience what it’s like in a proper working environment.”

“When we first met Joseph, he identified two areas of the store that he wanted to work in. One of them was the café and the other one was our food trading department. In the café Joseph has learnt about food safety and hygiene, he’s supported the café team in providing food for customers, cleaned tables, made coffees on our barista bar, served customers and kept the place clean and tidy.”

“The Magna Vitae gave us an understanding of what Joseph’s skills were and his experience, but most importantly it told us what his needs were. I found the Magna Vitae a useful document as it allowed us to put a package in place to support Joseph. The detail that it goes into explains all his previous history, what he’s been up to, what he enjoys and what his hobbies are. As a business the Magna Vitae is imperative as it helps us understand if this person is the right individual for the job, and if we can give them the experience they’re looking for.”

Want to join Sainsbury’s Paignton in welcoming people with disabilities into your business? Ask to be contacted by a Jobcentre Plus local Employer Advisor.

Watch Joseph’s full story and his journey to gaining work experience.

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