Self employment

Self-employment and small business ownership is becoming an increasingly popular route to work for people with a learning disability interested in using their skills and talents to create employment opportunities.

We work with supported employment providers, job coaches, local authorities, colleges, and voluntary sector organisations to include self employment as part of their support offer.

We have spent over 20 years supporting people to explore this route to work by developing a range of tools resources and guides to help people on their business journey. 

Projects

For information on our research programme - The nature of entrepreneurship and enterprise for people with learning disabilities - click here

We are also currently undertaking a review of Croydon's Supported Self Employment Academy - click here

The STARTUP Programme aims to provide the tools and effective working practices that will enable more disabled people to explore entrepreneurship and self-employment. By recognising the important social and economic contribution that disabled people can make, STARTUP shows its commitment to improving employment rates by bringing together a number of social engagement organisations to create an e-learning platform to inspire tomorrow’s youth workers, job coaches and facilitators.

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Resources

Our RED (Rapid Enterprise Development) Workshops deliver an interactive and accessible approach to building the skills and capacity available to support people interested in exploring the enterprise route to work.

These can be accessed as stand alone training and to raise awareness but are particularly effective when used as a part of a strategic development programme. Similarly, RED can be used as part of an overall service modernisation, an innovative way for colleges to work with disabled people or in the development of social enterprises, The team will tailor the delivery to local need.
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We have four core workshops. More information on these is ​available here

RED Training for Entrepreneurs
 
The Original RED workshop is designed to support the development of actual enterprise ideas being pursued by a person with a learning disability and their support team.  

Break even RED

A one day workshop for job coaches and other employment staff working with people interested in exploring self employment.

Innovations RED

A one day workshop for job coaches and other employment staff that builds on the business viability work done previously by exploring how to build stronger business idea for people with learning disabilities

Marketing RED

A one day workshop for job coaches and other employment staff that will  enable the ability to design and implement a robust programme of market research and  generate a market research strategy

Useful publications from the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities

Easy cash-flow template