A new partnership between the region’s largest council and a supermarket chain has been launched to help people into work.
Durham County Council’s DurhamEnable service, which supports people aged 18 and over with disabilities, neurodiversity, or long-term health conditions into work, has been working with Morrisons to launch a new pilot employment scheme.
The pilot saw five job seekers given work placements at three of Morrisons’ County Durham stores, where they took part in a six-week trial period.
The trial allowed the participants to develop the skills needed for the role while being given full support between shifts by DurhamEnable’s dedicated job coaches.
At the end of the six weeks, two of the job seekers decided to continue to paid employment and have started their new jobs with Morrisons.
Another job seeker was able to use the skills they gained from the trial to secure paid employment elsewhere.
The supermarket is now working with DurhamEnable to organise another opportunity to welcome job seekers and roll out the pilot across more stores in the county.
Cllr Ted Henderson, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “We are delighted to have worked in partnership with Morrisons to give some of our job seekers the opportunity to secure paid employment.
“People can sometimes find their disability or health condition can impact on finding and maintaining a job. This scheme has allowed us to work with a large employer and set up a trial period which is supportive and follows the job seeker at their pace, allowing them to build the skills they need to continue into work. We’re so pleased that some of our participants were able to secure employment through the scheme and wish them well in their new roles.”
Claire Coulthard, Morrisons people manager, said: “We’re really pleased that through this partnership with DurhamEnable, we have provided work opportunities for jobseekers with disabilities, neurodiversity, or long-term health conditions.
“We are proud to be working with such a worthwhile organisation and look forward to continuing and building on our partnership.”
For more information about DurhamEnable, visit https://www.durham.gov.uk/DurhamEnable
