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Despite having a "challenging and unpredictable year", a local employment charity has successfully helped nearly 100 individuals with disabilities find work in the community this year.
Jersey Employment Trust (JET) is a charity which was founded in 2002 with the aim of making employment and vocational training more accessible to people with disabilities.
Every year, their Employment Service works with nearly 600 people who have a disability or long-term health condition.
Additionally, the charity supports people with work and training at their social enterprise, Acorn.
Express spoke to JET's Employment Service manager, Emma Powell, about this year and what they are most looking forward to in 2021...
"2020 has been a challenging and unpredictable year but we are finishing it in a more positive position than we first expected. From 1 January to date, we have supported 298 people. This year we have successfully placed 98 new jobs and hope to reach 100 by the end of the year, which is not too much lower than in 2019."
Pictured: JET also supports employment and training for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions at Acorn, Jersey's largest social enterprise.
"Our work is in every sector but, of course, some industries were struck particularly hard, like hospitality, and most others changed the way they worked. The shift towards working from home, for example, meant that there were fewer admin jobs for our clients to do in an office environment.
"We are seeing the anticipated rise in the number of people reporting mental health issues, including amongst people who had not had such problems before."
"If I could wave a magic wand and have three wishes for 2021 (apart from Coronavirus being wiped out, of course), they would be:
To have plenty of internship opportunities more readily available. We have been fortunate to secure funding for our internships programme, which offers work opportunities paid for by us. We understand that employers can be reluctant to take on someone new, but JET internships offer something different, our clients are well-matched and we have a 75% success rate in the person keeping the job.
To have employers use us more readily when it comes to job retention. We are a free resource to use at what can be a sensitive and challenging time. We can be an impartial third party to facilitate a positive outcome.
To have a bank of friendly employers who know what we do and always have us in the front of their minds when it comes to recruitment. It doesn’t always have to be the provision of a job, it might be that they can offer short job tasters and shadowing just to show what a role involves or an industry looks like.
Pictured: Emma Powell is head of Employment Services, which works with nearly 600 people each year who have a disability or long-term health condition.
"We have a lot to offer employers and we are always looking for new partnerships and ways of working with employers. Investing time and effort in our clients is a sound investment. Our latest Quality Assurance report said that we saved the Jersey taxpayer anything between £5,000 and £16,000 per person per year.
‘We would like to thank everyone who has continued to support us in 2020. As we head into the new year, we believe that the Island needs us more than ever."
If you would like to learn more about JET’s work, please visit their website or email emma.powell@jet.co.je.
