Adults

New Directions is a Welfare to Work service developed by Medway Council to assist unemployed disabled people in Medway who wish to work and need help seeking employment. It aims to help people with multiple problems and needs, taking a "life first" approach that prioritises life needs, including their need to work.

The service is located outside the normal day care services and operates independently, while continuing strong links with day care providers as a means of providing a two-way referral system with the moving-on process for current and future service users.

Medway Council intends this service to be available to all disabled people of working age throughout Medway who may wish to remain in, enter or move closer to the world of work.

New Directions:

• enables different routes to be accessed from a wide variety of agencies;
• provides signposting to social inclusion and employment, with work-focused, pre-vocational training and support to help prospective employment seekers secure and maintain gainful employment through their own efforts;
• works with people wanting to re-enter employment by assessing their needs in terms of the new skills they need or the enhancement of existing skills (if, for instance, loss of employment was due to an acquired disability): this will be achieved by partnership working with other service providers and partners;
• works with people wishing to enter employment for the first time by assessing their needs and aspirations and providing training and support;
• works with people wishing to move closer to the world of work by referring them to other sheltered workshop schemes, voluntary placements or training opportunities.

What is Welfare to Work?

Welfare to Work for disabled people is the key element in achieving the government’s aim to help people into work and off benefits.

The government wishes to include disabled people in the world of work, not exclude them from it and aims to remove barriers that currently prevent disabled people entering or remaining in the workplace. It wishes to enable more people with disabilities to participate in all forms of employment, wherever possible in paid work and to make a valued contribution to the world of work.

Informal discussion

On accessing the service, there will be an initial discussion with a member of staff to find out:

• the effects of the disability,
• past and present employment,
• the preferred type of work,
• qualifications.

Following this discussion, the service user will be offered training or access to the job club or be referred to alternative services. The service user will be given every opportunity available to move closer to the world of work.

Training

New Directions offers in-house training. This will give the service user an opportunity to gain knowledge of:

• health and safety at work,
• how to identify their needs,
• their rights and those of others,
• how to market themselves,
• careers and work for the disabled,
• how to work as part of a team.

New Directions Job Club

Following training, service users can join the New Directions Job Club.This is available to anyone with a disability who is genuinely seeking work. It operates by working through structured programmes which include:

• producing curriculum vitae,
• finding job leads,
• using telephone techniques,
• writing and visiting,
• completing application forms,
• attending interviews,
• starting a job,
• keeping a job,
• searching for a job.

The Job Club aims to help members get the best possible job to meet their life needs.

People come to the Job Club to work at finding a job. The emphasis is on self-help and the trained and experienced staff will do as much as possible to equip members with the skills and motivation to sell themselves and to chase every possible job lead.

How to access the New Directions service

^ (back to top)