Disabled Jobs

Hannah Lawson, 22, has spoken to a conference in Melksham to talk about how her disability has affected her employment. Currently working in Poundland in The Shires shopping centre, Hannah was let go by her previous employers, a food retailer in Bath, due to her having Asperger’s Syndrome.

Hannah was unemployed for six months after being let go, but Pluss in Chippenham found her a job, and she says she is “much happier” in Poundland, where her customer service skills are highly valued.

Although Hannah admits that she can get confused at times, particularly when it is busy, her supervisor Kieron Dolman has said, “Hannah is a unique person, but I am really proud of the way she has come on. She has come a long way in three months and has good customer service skills.”

At Melksham Town Hall last Friday, 26 July, a Disability Confident conference was held, organised by local MP Michelle Donelan, where she urged employers in West Wiltshire to hire people with disabilities.

The Chippenham MP expressed, “I went into politics to help create opportunities for people and that includes people with disabilities being able to access jobs. This is about people having careers and being able to go for the jobs they want to do.”

Many exhibitors attended including the Department for Work and Pensions; Work Wiltshire; Pluss of Chippenham; Building Bridges of Devizes; Wiltshire Service Users’ Network; Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living of Semington; the Richmond Fellowship, a mental health charity, and WorkFit, which offers a direct link between employers and people with Down’s Syndrome.

(Source: wiltshiretimes.co.uk)