Work experience opportunities for blind and partially sighted people (SEED project)

Action for Blind People has developed a Social Enterprise and Employment Development (SEED) Project, funded by the National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund, to provide work experience opportunities for blind and partially sighted people within safe and supportive environments.

The work experience placements will take place in social enterprises and will initially be piloted in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North East with the intention of rolling it out across England. The placements will be in the form of:

• Work Taster Sessions - these sessions will last for one day and allow you to try out a job or vocational area that you are interested in. And if you don’t like this job, you can always try another one!
• Work Experience Placements - these sessions will last for up to two weeks and will give you a more in-depth experience of a particular job and working environment. You can also try as many of these placements as you would like.
• Trainee Placements - there are a limited number of 6 month, paid trainee placements available to provide a fully supported experience of work and access to work based training whilst engaging in a ‘real’ job.

Social enterprises are organisations that trade for social and environmental purposes. Just like any other business, a social enterprise aims to generate an income but instead of using this for personal gain, their profits are reinvested back into the business or the local community in order to further their social aims.

By nature, social enterprises are very supportive environments and are therefore the ideal place for you to develop important skills, build confidence and move one step closer to gaining employment.

Kevin took up a trainee kitchen post at Concept Conference Centre, Action for Blind People’s social enterprise in Birmingham. He knew that this would be a challenge but now says "I am more motivated and the new skills and confidence I have gained...will help me with my future job prospects."

If you are interested in taking part in the work experience placements or if you would like some more information please contact the SEED team on 0113 386 2800.