EMPLOYABILITY
Creating Life-Changing Opportunity
Nationally, only 4.8% of people with special educational needs and disabilities gain permanent paid employment in the UK. Despite legislation setting the pace for creating more opportunity for people with disabilities, these statistics show that more needs to be done if we are to bridge the employment gap and bring equality.
At the DFN Foundation, we believe now is the time for a new vision that will drive tangible and sustainable change. We are focused on creating lasting change in training and sharing best practices to ensure we can achieve fair employment outcomes for young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and autism.
At the DFN Foundation, we believe now is the time for a new vision that will drive tangible and sustainable change. We are focused on creating lasting change in training and sharing best practices to ensure we can achieve fair employment outcomes for young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and autism.
What is DFN Project Search?
People with disabilities who want to and are able to work are one of the country’s most under-recognised and under-utilised assets.
Paid employment is transformational in terms of health, wellbeing, quality of life and social integration, enabling people with a learning disability to achieve financial, emotional and social independence. Over 30 years of research has shown that employment is associated with significant health gains.
An increase in the disability employment rate would also reduce the rate of relative poverty and absolute poverty among disabled people. Instead, benefits recipients become tax payers, reducing costs for local and national governments.
Paid employment is transformational in terms of health, wellbeing, quality of life and social integration, enabling people with a learning disability to achieve financial, emotional and social independence. Over 30 years of research has shown that employment is associated with significant health gains.
An increase in the disability employment rate would also reduce the rate of relative poverty and absolute poverty among disabled people. Instead, benefits recipients become tax payers, reducing costs for local and national governments.
Our Ambition
Striving to provide innovative skills-based training that better prepares learners with additional learning needs and disabilities for the workplace whilst opening the door to a wide variety of employment opportunities.
Increasing convenient and quick access to internships and apprenticeships for young people with learning disabilities and autism, giving them a gateway into the workplace.
Promoting greater employer engagement and eliminating the employment gap by challenging and positively influencing current practices to provide disabled youth with their full entitlement to effective employability training.
Increasing convenient and quick access to internships and apprenticeships for young people with learning disabilities and autism, giving them a gateway into the workplace.
Promoting greater employer engagement and eliminating the employment gap by challenging and positively influencing current practices to provide disabled youth with their full entitlement to effective employability training.
OUR ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE IT
OUR PARTNERSHIPS
DFN Project Search
What is it?
DFN Project SEARCH is a one-year transition to work programme for young adults with a learning disability or autism spectrum conditions, or both.
At DFN Project SEARCH we work hard to challenge and change cultures, demonstrating how young people with a learning disability can enrich the workforce, bring incredible skills and talent, encourage greater diversity and meet a real business need.
Partnering with organisations across the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create supported employment internships for young people in their last year of education, helping them to take positive first steps into the world of work.
At DFN Project SEARCH we work hard to challenge and change cultures, demonstrating how young people with a learning disability can enrich the workforce, bring incredible skills and talent, encourage greater diversity and meet a real business need.
Partnering with organisations across the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create supported employment internships for young people in their last year of education, helping them to take positive first steps into the world of work.
Successful SEARCH Stories
DFN Project SEARCH partnered with Marriott Hotels, which takes interns on from our programme into fulltime employment.
In 2023 DFN Project SEARCH launched the first ever National Supported Internship Day on the 27th of March 2023. The purpose of the day was to raise awareness of supported internships and what they are. Incredibly, they reached 9.8m people across the UK via social media.
Over 3,000 users created content based on supported internship programmes across the UK, helping to give young adults with a learning disability and, or autism spectrum condition a voice.
In 2023 DFN Project SEARCH launched the first ever National Supported Internship Day on the 27th of March 2023. The purpose of the day was to raise awareness of supported internships and what they are. Incredibly, they reached 9.8m people across the UK via social media.
Over 3,000 users created content based on supported internship programmes across the UK, helping to give young adults with a learning disability and, or autism spectrum condition a voice.
IMPACT
2,200+
The number of interns now employed.
140+
The number of successful sites in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Portugal.
60%
The percentage of graduates who achieve permanent full-time employment.
Influencing Policy
The Centre for Social Justice
In 2021, alongside Disability Rights UK, Disability@Work, Leonard Cheshire, Scope, the Shaw Trust Foundation, UNISON, and the University of Warwick, the DFN Foundation founded the Disability Employment Charter.
The Charter calls on the government to implement proposals aimed at addressing disability employment disadvantage in nine key areas including: mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting; reform of Access to Work and Disability Confident; leveraging of government procurement; and enhanced access to reasonable adjustments.
It has been signed by 175 organisations. Including all the UK’s largest disability charities (Mind, National Autistic Society, Mencap, Sense), large corporates (including McDonalds, Herbert Smith Freehills, PageGroup).
The Charter calls on the government to implement proposals aimed at addressing disability employment disadvantage in nine key areas including: mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting; reform of Access to Work and Disability Confident; leveraging of government procurement; and enhanced access to reasonable adjustments.
It has been signed by 175 organisations. Including all the UK’s largest disability charities (Mind, National Autistic Society, Mencap, Sense), large corporates (including McDonalds, Herbert Smith Freehills, PageGroup).
The Disability Employment Charter
In 2021, alongside Disability Rights UK, Disability@Work, Leonard Cheshire, Scope, the Shaw Trust Foundation, UNISON, and the University of Warwick, the DFN Foundation founded the Disability Employment Charter.
The Charter calls on the government to implement proposals aimed at addressing disability employment disadvantage in nine key areas including: mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting; reform of Access to Work and Disability Confident; leveraging of government procurement; and enhanced access to reasonable adjustments.
It has been signed by 175 organisations. Including all the UK’s largest disability charities (Mind, National Autistic Society, Mencap, Sense), large corporates (including McDonalds, Herbert Smith Freehills, PageGroup).
The Charter calls on the government to implement proposals aimed at addressing disability employment disadvantage in nine key areas including: mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting; reform of Access to Work and Disability Confident; leveraging of government procurement; and enhanced access to reasonable adjustments.
It has been signed by 175 organisations. Including all the UK’s largest disability charities (Mind, National Autistic Society, Mencap, Sense), large corporates (including McDonalds, Herbert Smith Freehills, PageGroup).
Contact
Our registered office: Fivefields, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0DH
Phone: 02034323402info@dfnfoundation.org
Our registered office is:
Fivefields, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0DH
The DFN Charitable Foundation currently has sizeable commitments
and is not accepting grant applications.
Charities Commission
Please find our certificate from the Charities Commission here.