Project boost disability equality training in South West Wales

Posted on by karen.smith

A project specialising in disability equality training in South West Wales has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

COASTAL’s E3 Project is one of nine finalists in three categories in the National Training Awards, organised within Wales by the Welsh Government in partnership with the National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW).

The National Training Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of employers who have Investors in People accreditation and who have used excellence in training and skills development to impact on their business.

The winners will be announced at a high profile awards presentation ceremony at Venue Cymru, Llandudno on Wednesday, October 24, where the winners of the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru will also be recognised. The joint awards which will be attended by around 300 key stakeholders from the vocational education and training sector across Wales.

Sponsor of the National Training Awards, which aim to showcase excellence in skills development in Wales, is City & Guilds and media partner is Media Wales.

The campaign to promote disability equality took a major step forward in South West Wales when COASTAL’s E3 project decided to offer professional training for its volunteers.

The COASTAL project, which is a finalist in the small company category, provides employment and skills guidance to people experiencing illness, disability, substance misuse or serious social disadvantages. Part of the project – E3 – specialises in disability equality training.

COASTAL needed to grow the E3 project to generate revenue and make it more self sustaining but only had two volunteers, who had limited knowledge of training and no qualifications.

They needed more volunteers but there was a poor response to in-house training so an external provider was appointed – Social Care Consultants Ltd of Pontypridd. Funding was provided with the help of the Welsh Government and the European Social Fund.

COASTAL development officer Gemma Lelliott said: “We were disappointed with our initial efforts so it was important that our new provider offered a programme which covered a range of disabilities, developed the skills of the volunteers and provided a recognised qualification to support them in developing a new career.”

Seven volunteers have gained qualifications, which allows E3 to expand its work. More volunteers are ready to participate in the next training programme.

“Our volunteers now visit almost every comprehensive school and some primary schools in Swansea to provide disability equality training and we will be targeting smaller businesses that would like to recruit disabled staff but maybe don’t know how to go about it,” added Gemma.

Deputy Minister for Skills, Jeff Cuthbert said: “These joint awards recognise excellence by individuals, employers and learning providers in delivering training. I am delighted with the standard of this year’s finalists and the variety across all ages and sectors, which shows the strength of the skills being delivered in Wales.

“All the finalists have an inspiring story to tell and are great ambassadors for Investors in People and other programmes in Wales. The Investors in People standard helps businesses become more competitive and improves their performance and results by maximising the potential of their staff.”

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