Medequip’s journey to learning and understanding about supported employment began back in 2021 in partnership with BASE (British Association for Supported Employment) and Disability Rights UK. The company is currently at Disability Confident Employer Level 2, working towards Level 3.
Medequip was introduced to the Forward2Employment support scheme through our partnership with Dynamic Recruitment. We recruited our first apprentice at our Rochester depot in September 2021; he has now completed his training and learning programme supported by Forward2Employment and is now employed full time by Medequip.
This valuable process involved Medequip and our staff in Rochester going through an important learning process too, in order to best support our apprentice. We were provided with training and assistance to help us achieve a better understanding of the challenges he faces on a daily basis, whilst he benefited from the support of a job coach from Forward2Employment to assist with learning and development aspects. We now have a further two apprentices at our Woodford Green depot.
Medequip recently held an Open Day at Rochester for a cohort of potential students, who spent a morning finding out about what we do and how we do it. We enjoyed an excellent turnout; the event was well attended by Forward2Employment students, with a programme focused on helping young people into permanent and purposeful employment.
Achieving a more inclusive recruitment policy is an integral part of Medequip’s HR strategy. At our Birmingham depot, Depot Manager Jo Page has been working closely with The PURE project (Placing vulnerable Urban Residents into Employment) for several years. PURE brings together a range of coordinated interventions designed to assist the needs of the most vulnerable citizens with barriers into the employment market.
To date, Medequip in Birmingham has welcomed three PURE trainees, all of whom have gone on to permanent employment at the depot. “We were always convinced we had the right environment to support, mentor and guide individuals through to employment, education and training in line with the PURE objectives,” stated Jo. ”We have benefited from great support from local agencies as well as our own Medequip team here in Birmingham, who are completely on board with our objectives. Our PURE people are an important and integral part of this team and a joy to work with, as well as exhibiting high levels of commitment and reliability.”