Justin Visits Award Winning Specialist Support Provider Pluss For Employability Day

The Swindon branch of the award winning social enterprise organisation, Pluss, has welcomed a visit by long-term supporter and former Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson MP.

Pluss, who have provided specialist employment support for disabled jobseekers for more than 45 years, work to help secure employment opportunities in a wide range of businesses and job roles. In Swindon, where employment is at record levels, new opportunities are being created constantly for roles in the manufacturing, administration and nursing/care sectors in particular.

The visit formed part of the the annual Employability Day, coordinated by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), when hundreds of organisations throw open their doors to raise awareness about what they do to help people into work. The ERSA is the representative body for those delivering employment support services.  ERSA’s membership spans the private, voluntary and public sectors and ranges from large multi-nationals through to small specialist charities. It has over 260 members and three quarters are not for profit.

During the visit, Justin highlighted that he would be dedicating time over the next few months into matching employers who have expressed an interest in hiring more disabled people with Pluss in order to assist great candidates in Swindon. Many of the programmes Pluss deliver are on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Big Lottery Fund, local authorities and the NHS.

Justin met with Simon and Saul, both with disabilities and on a Pluss work training scheme which provides people with valuable skills for employment and training including for interview skills.

During his tenure as the Minister for Disabled People, the North Swindon MP worked with Pluss and others to expand the Disability Confident Campaign, which attempted to break some of the myths around employing disabled workers, and promoting the benefits for businesses, the individual, and the economy.

Since then, Justin has carried on by organising a number of successful events, with Pluss featuring prominently, such as the reverse jobs fair at STEAM Museum, and the recent event at the Marriott Hotel in partnership with Horizon’s College and celebrity chef Marco Pierre White.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: “It was great to be invited to Pluss today to discuss both the successes of the Government’s policies to help more disabled people find employment. Pluss have been brilliant at recent events I have been part of organising, such as the disability employment event with Horizon’s College last month. It was great to visit again to see the training first hand and speak to the people benefiting from this excellent tailored support.”