Unemployed people with disabilities are being helped into work through an innovative £900,000 programme, piloted in Scotland by Mitie and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

The ‘Think Differently’ initiative is designed to encourage employers to actively recruit candidates with autism, learning disabilities physical disabilities and mental health problems. It will enable a minimum of 60 candidates across the UK, to take part in a 12-week training programme designed to gain real life work experience and a recognised industry qualification.

It is currently being piloted in Glasgow and Airdrie in Scotland. Ten candidates are on placement with Mitie in roles including quantity surveying, electrical engineering, painting and decorating and administration.

The project has received almost half a million pounds in funding from CITB, with a further £400,000 investment from Mitie, and is supported by disability recruitment partner Remploy, The National Autistic Society, and construction training organisation, Geason Training.

As part of the initiative Remploy and The National Autistic Society will refer candidates to the programme and deliver disability training to Mitie employees. This Disability Coaching Model will up-skill existing staff and enable Mitie to offer inclusive work placement opportunities across its business. Geason Training will deliver training qualifications to all participants.

Robert Kilpatrick, Director at Geason Training said:  “The Think Differently programme is a huge opportunity to progress with a learning and development area which has been sadly missing in the construction sector.  We believe this programme will be emulated within other organisations and will truly make a difference for people with disabilities in the sector in future.”

Analysis by Arcadis suggests that Brexit could lead to a reduction of 215,000 people in the UK construction industry.

That’s equivalent to 14% of the workforce just disappearing. A Brexodus.

Arcadis believes that a potential ‘hard’ Brexit scenario – such as extending the points-based system currently in place for non-EU migrants – could see the number of EU construction workers entering the UK fall at the rate of attrition. This would mean that EU nationals could leave the industry at a quicker rate than they can be replaced. If this were to play out, Arcadis estimates that almost 215,000 fewer people from the EU would enter the infrastructure and house building sectors between now and 2020.

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