When is a cafe, more than a cafe?

Laura Shuttleworth • March 11, 2022

… when it supports people with disabilities and other barriers on their journey to meaningful paid employment.  

At Ways into Work, we specialise in matching the skills and talents of people with disabilities and other barriers to the needs of local businesses. This provides them with the support they need to access sustainable employment, increase their independence, and most importantly, have the same opportunities as everyone around them. 

To grow our impact, we are working in partnership with New Directions College to launch a brand-new project - our very own café near the Broad Street Mall in Reading’s town centre. New Direction College are leading on the offsite learning and qualifications using their SMILE hospitality learning suite and upgraded digital capability. This café will not only be a trendy new spot for you to enjoy coffee, sandwiches, and cake, but it has many other benefits as well.

In line with our social mission – Changing Lives, One Job at a Time – the café will employ and be staffed by people with disabilities and other barriers, supporting those in the local community. This will mean paid jobs for our clients, as well as other development opportunities, such as work experience and supported internships.

But the benefits do not stop there... it will challenge perceptions of disability by demonstrating real diversity in the workforce, showcasing how employing people with disabilities can benefit employers and provide funding to support the Keeping in Touch (KIT) team in its vital role supporting people where there is no funding or the funding has run out.

Our Keeping in Touch team provide essential ongoing support to clients who are no longer funded under Local Authority or other commissioned contracts. The KIT team has no external funding and we re-invest our finite earnings into it to offer our 'time unlimited support promise’ to ensure that, through life’s ups and downs, support is available to maintain sustainable employment.

We have launched a Crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise £30,000 to help set up the café and make this project a success, but we need your support - so please share with everyone you know to raise awareness and get the message out there!

To Change Lives, One Job at a Time, and for a new spot to enjoy your morning cuppa – please donate today to our crowdfunding campaign!  

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Barista and Beyond – the Journey so far

By Hana El-Giathi and Ema Trkulja • June 8, 2023

Our Journey in Changing Lives One Job at a Time continues in our café, Barista & Beyond

Client's journey to achieving her dream job

By Laura Shuttleworth • March 2, 2023

An incredible good news story from one of our clients, who explains how the support from us has changed her life and helped her get her dream job!

A Client’s Employment Journey up to being awarded Employee of the year!

By Laura Shuttleworth • January 16, 2023

When Rajpal first became a client at Ways into Work he had been struggling with looking for work and a good job match. Rajpal has a mild learning disability and mental health issues and had not worked for over ten years except to help now and then at his family’s supermarket. He had not worked for such a long time as he was not well enough to think about his career and life choices. When he joined Ways into Work as a Job Seeker and was assigned an Employment Coach who spent a long time getting to know him, doing a vocational profile and job matching. It was decided that the best first step was for Rajpal was to experience what different jobs and roles are like and what they would entail. Ways into Work then supported him in applying for various roles in retail and did mock interviews where he gained lots of practice. He secured a few interviews but was not offered any of the jobs. Rajpal had begun taking an interest in going to the gym and informed his Employment Coach that he would like a job at the gym. After approaching the employer, his Employment Coach secured an interview for him. He was so happy that at the interview when asked why he would like to work at the gym, he pulled out of his pocket a handwritten lengthy list of reasons why he liked the job and the skills he had to offer. This showed the employer his passion for the job and Rajpal was offered the job, working 3 days (24 hours) a week to begin with. As the leisure centre was 7 miles away, his Employment Coach supported him with applying for Access To Work transport to and from work. They also taught him and his parents how to claim his monthly ATW transport and supported him with the change of circumstances in his benefits. When Rajpal first started to work at the Leisure Centre he solely worked in the gym and his role included ensuring that all the equipment was working and clean, as well as dealing with lots of customer enquiries. This was quite a challenge for Rajpal to begin with, as it was a large premise and no two days were the same. With Job Coaching , Ways into Work was able to support Rajpal by helping to create a routine for him and also discussing with his supervisor a way of building new tasks into his days as the weeks progressed.

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