View from a boss

Harry Hinchcliffe, Managing Director, Deanprint Limited, Stockport.

We are still considered as a family firm employing sixty members of staff involved in all aspects of printing and hand mechanised binding. Thirteen years ago we were asked to provide a work experience placement for Georgina Nagle who was twenty at the time.  So that’s what we did with some support during the first six months or so. We then offered Georgina long term employment and she is still with us today.

Georgina works twenty hours per week which is her choice. Wednesday is for college and Friday is for swimming.  Perfect!  The experience has been rewarding for all concerned.  Being a medium-sized company has helped to cement Georgina into our work force.  She has such positive support and can work with a good cross-section of employees.Georgina is treated as able-bodied.

The management have shown a social  conscience and the positivity has grown throughout the workforce. We can all become blinkered to the needs of others, especially the disabled.  With most organisations there will be tasks to perform that may not require managerial responsibility, high skills or high speed levels.  If we do not give an opportunity to all then we risk becoming elitist which will exclude the disabled from most life experiences.

Prople sometimes ask me what advice I would give to other employers considering employing somebody with learning disabilities. Purely from the Deanprint perspective, we agreed to the most important step, the first one, without any guarantees. We commenced with work experience always with a safety net that if the process became too disruptive then we had the support of an experienced organisation to remedy the problem.

And my message to people looking at the Aspirations For Life website?

Children and young people with learning disabilities: don't give up too soon, practice practice practice!

Families: emphasise the importance of punctuality and regular attendance. These are the cornerstones of any employment.

Workers: put yourself in other peoples’ shoes.  Consider how you would like to be addressed, helped or treated, then apply this with feeling.