Daniel presenting at a Disability Confidence event

IDEA for SMEs

Who can get involved?

To apply to join the scheme, you’ll need to:

Be an SME with fewer than 250 employees.
Be based in the West of England (Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire).
Have an annual turnover of less than EUR 50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total of less than EUR 43 million.

Support we offer

The support we provide is flexible, and we’ll design an interactive and engaging training and support package around your needs.

We can provide training in short workshops or longer sessions, and a mixture of e-learning, virtual and in-person delivery – depending on what works best for your business.

How to find out more

For more information fill in the form below or email Jamila on: Jamila.Augustus@leonardcheshire.org.

We will arrange a suitable time for a call back.

What you'll get from the project

You will be provided with training and resources (delivered in-person, virtually or via e-learning) on various topics including:

Disability Awareness
Barrier-free recruitment
Mental Health at Work
Workplace adjustments

We provide specific skills workshops to encourage discussion on topics around language, access to work, accessible communications and inclusivity. We also support SMEs in achieving Level 1 and 2 in the Government's Disability Confident scheme.

As part of this project, we will also be working with local providers and our Workforce for the Future partners to match SMEs with disabled people seeking work experience, placements and employment.

Why take part

Commercial opportunity - The ‘purple pound’ (the spending power of disabled people) is worth £249bn. We can help you make the most of this expanding market.
Access to untapped talent - A more diverse workforce can bring creativity and new insight to your business. And did you know that disabled employees have higher retention and lower absenteeism rates?
Improve employee morale - Send a positive message to your workforce that you’re an inclusive and supportive employer.
Serve your current employees better - We’ll show you how you can make workplace adjustments at low cost but with huge benefits for your staff.
It makes good business sense - Disability inclusive businesses report higher revenues. Being able to demonstrate that you are socially responsible can give you that competitive edge.

Request a call back

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Stay in touch

We’d like to keep you updated about how we support disabled people to live, learn and work as independently as they choose.

We’ll let you know how you can support our vision and get involved through fundraising, volunteering and campaigning opportunities.

Yes, please keep me updated by email

We respect your right to privacy and to have your data kept securely and we will never sell or swap your data. We may use and share your data for administrative purposes and/or profiling to help us provide the best possible service and inspiring content. For specific details on how we may use your data, please read our full privacy notice.

You can update or remove your personal details any time by contacting us by email at supporter@leonardcheshire.org or by calling us on 0300 303 0074.

About Workforce for the Future

Workforce for the Future provides free tailored, in-depth support to help you ensure your employees have the access to the training and support that your business needs to thrive. You’ll receive free support from our expert partners to ensure your business can identify ongoing skills needs, attract and retain talented people, access the right training and development, and invest in your current and future workforce.

For more information on Workforce for the Future, please contact the West of England Growth Hub. The Growth Hub is the West of England Combined Authority’s dedicated business support service which offers free, one-to-one advice and guidance for SMEs.

How the project is funded

The West of England Workforce for the Future programme has received £4m of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme.

Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations.