Opening doors for disabled

Lesley Laird MP with Leonard Cheshire manager Isobel Thomson in Glenrothes.

A Kirkcaldy MP is backing Leonard Cheshire’s innovative Change 100 programme to help more people with disabilities into employment.

It brings together top employers and talented disabled students and graduates to offer three months’ paid work experience.

Following a visit to Leonard Cheshire in Glenrothes, where she met manager Isobel Thomson, Lesley Laird MP urged Fife employers to get on board.

She said: “It makes absolute economic sense for employers to recruit the most talented candidate to help their business succeed.

“Conversely, it makes no business sense to reject that candidate simply on the basis that they have a disability – but, sadly, this can happen when firms don’t feel ‘disability confident’.

“Change 100 offers outstanding mentoring and peer support to instil that confidence – so much so, all businesses which took part in the programme wholeheartedly recommended it to others.

“I’m urging employers in Fife to find out for themselves what Change 100 can offer and give disabled people a chance to prove what they’re capable of.”

To find out more visit: www.leonardcheshire.org