It may seem like a shocking statistic, but only around half of the people in the UK who are registered as disabled are in employment. This equates to about 52.1%. That’s compared with around eight out of ten people which is 81.3% in 2020. So what could be causing this downward trend in the number of disabled people in the UK workforce?
Many companies and workplaces around the country are not adequately accessible to those who are disabled. This is because they may not have appropriate facilities to allow disabled people the same access to facilites that able bodied workers are able to use. This is an extremely serious issue and can be classed as a form of discrimination as people who are disabled may have the same qualifications as able bodied workers but employers might not be able to take them on due to lack of appropriate facilities.
A number of different organisations have joined forces in an effort to promote equality in the work place and increase the drive to improve the number of disabled people in the UK work force. This includes Lee Corless who is the Head Of Global Expansion, People and Culture for Rangam who are joining the BASE National Executive Committee to ensure the voices of the employer and businesses continue to be heard as equal partners to form part of a model which helps to support more and more disabled people in to the work force. The aim of the partnership is to drive greater inclusion within the workplace of neurodiverse, disabled, and disadvantaged job seekers.
Rangam are an organisation who help to provide work place solutions to the global minority, women and the disabled work force. They run programmes to help spread their philosophy and drive inovation to help influence the way the employment sector runs and operates. This way they will be able to improve the amount of equality in the work force and drive up the different numbers of disabled people there are in certain careers.
Within the Supported Employment model, which BASE members utilize, employers are valued as equal partners, meaning that at an operational level, Rangam will match locally supported employment providers with employers who are keen to create accessible opportunities.
“Embedding the Supported Employment model into business, drives genuine culture change, which is why we’re also delighted to announce that Lee Corless, EVP, Head of Global Expansion, People & Culture for Rangam, has joined the BASE National Executive Committee (NEC). Lee will be volunteering his time to BASE on the NEC to lead on National Employer Partnerships, ensuring that the voice of the employer and business is heard.” That’s according to Laura Davis, CEO of BASE.
“This is a great opportunity, and I am excited and confident that this partnership will drive greater inclusion within the workplace and reduce the disability employment gap. With common goals, Rangam and BASE will strive to work with employers to establish inclusive recruitment which meets the needs of businesses and provides autistic, disabled and neurodivergent job seekers with sustainable employment across the UK,” said Corless.
British Association for Supported Employment is a UK-based national trade association representing hundreds of agencies involved in securing employment for people with disabilities. The association aims to raise awareness of supported employment, represent the sector on a collective basis, inform members, and encourage best practices.
Rangam is a minority-, woman-, and disability-owned workforce solutions company with a mission to “Accelerate Meaningful Employment for Everyone,” including autistic and neurodivergent talent, people with disabilities, service veterans, women in STEM, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other diverse groups. The organisation delivers innovative workforce solutions by designing an integrated and inclusive recruiting methodology. Rangam specializes in attracting and retaining talent globally for IT, Engineering, Scientific, Clinical, Healthcare, Administrative, Finance, and Business Professionals categories.
