Ms Marie Killeen:

Basically, it comes back to the fact that people employ people they know, like and trust. When people get to know other people, they get a chance to figure out what they can do, how to help them do it better and what they cannot do. As a starting point, the Deputy asked what direction we need to be going in. We need to be going in the direction of people being aware of all the schemes that are available. Employers for Change is doing great work in building awareness but more needs to be done in getting employers to fully understand what is available and how we can benefit their organisations and companies. It always comes back to getting people with disabilities or long-term conditions to get their foot in the door. How do we do that? It is about going red raw applying for a job where there might be a certain amount of "we employ people with disabilities", but do they really? It is about people getting the chance to get in the door and prove what they can do and sometimes that starts with a voluntary work placement, which leads to the wage subsidy, which leads to a contract that is sustainable for a person with a disability, which might be a part-time contract. Not everyone can work full time.