In partnership with Jobcentre Plus and the private sector group MITIE, Essex Unite is ecdp's ground-breaking work experience training programme designed to offer unemployed disabled individuals the opportunity to participate in meaningful work placements to give them the drive, experience and confidence needed to get into paid employment.

1. Essex Unite
ecdp and JCP working together
Presented by: Paschal Kane,
Samantha Greenwood

2. ecdp
(Essex Coalition of Disabled People)
• Established 1995
• 30 FTE, nearly £1.5M turnover
• 100% Board Members have a self-
declared impairment
• Over 50% of our team have a self-
declared impairment

3. Vision
• To enhance the lives of disabled
people in Essex and beyond. Our aim
is to empower disabled people to have
independence, choice, flexibility and
control.

4. Everyone should have the
right to work
• Disabled people are more likely to be
unemployed than non disabled people,
and those who are employed are paid
less on average, than non disabled
people?

5. Stats
• Only half of disabled people of working
age are in work (50%), compared with
80% of non disabled people
• There are currently 1.3 million disabled
people in the UK who are available for
and want to work
• Nearly one in five people of working
age (7 million, or 18.6%) in Great
Britain have a disability

6. Who are MITIE?
• Established 1987
• Outsourcing and energy services
• UK FTSE 250 Business
• Revenues of £2.8 bn
• Currently employs 63,000 plus
staff

7. Why employ a disabled
person?
• Disabled people make good,
dependable employees

8. Why employ a disabled
person?
• Disabled people are more likely to
stay on the job
“Do our disabled workers show up every day, and
are they great with other staff and with
customers? Yes. They have a tremendous benefit
for our business.”
John Kubas, Carl’s Jr. restaurant

9. Why employ a disabled
person?
• Disabled people are an often
untapped resource of skills and
talents
“People with disability are a resource of abilities, of
willpower - they are real economical and social
actors”
Paul Dubrulle, President of the ACCOR hotels
group

10. Why employ a disabled
person?
• Disabled people have insight into
an overlooked and multibillion
dollar market segment
“The annual disposable income of disabled
persons is estimated to be US$200 billion in the
United States, US$50 billion in the United
Kingdom and US$25 billion in Canada”.

11. Why employ a disabled
person?
• It’s good for business
“The ethical dimension of our firm, perceptible by
our employees, must also be felt by our guests.”
Wendy Crudele, Disneyland Human resources
vice-director

12. What is Essex Unite?
• A bespoke peer to peer work
experience programme.
• 18 candidates
• 8 weeks training including a 6 week
work placement
• 3 month peer to peer support post
training programme

13. Outcome
• 18 disabled individuals ready for
permanent employment with current
work experience, development of
soft/hard skills and a reference (from
the work placement).

14. ecdp / MITIE offer
• Intensive training courses
• Interviews and vetting
• On sight support
• Mentor training
• 3 month post programme support
• Access to work support
• Evaluation Process

15. Where did Essex Unite come
from ?
Real Apprentice
“MITIE European Award Winners for
Innovation” BITC

16. Partnership …
• Fantastic Partnership offering
from a private and 3rd sector party
• First of its kind
• Following on from the success of
the Real Apprentice

17. Questions

18. Contact details
ecdp
Ivan Peck House
1 Russell Way
Chelmsford
CM1 3AA
• 01245 214 011- Paschal Kane (Director
ecdp)
Email: pkane@ecdp.co.uk
Web: www.ecdp.org.uk