Disability and Employment
/There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Only 90,000 of these people are in paid employment in England*. That’s six percent.
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be employed. CLIA Care have had the pleasure of Eleanor Welby as a part-time Admin Assistant for the last year. Below she writes about her experience, and the perception of disability in society.
*NHS Digital 2018
In the early twentieth century a lot of people believed that anyone disabled or deficient would be a threat to the health of the nation. The aim was to eliminate human physical and mental defects altogether in order to build a better society. People with disabilities would be segregated from everyone else in the name of perfecting the human race.
The return home of ex-servicemen from World War I did challenge the idea that disabled people were a burden, but they continued to face social rejection, discriminatory employment practices, architectural barriers and lack of accessibility to transport.
I have been working in disability for around seven years, volunteering in schools and now in my first paid role at the care home. Having these jobs has been a confidence-builder for me. Even though it brings challenges, it has also been rewarding and enjoyable. I’m very happy to say that having these jobs has been one of the best decisions of my life.
