9th January 2008

People with disabilities and health conditions in Bristol are about to benefit from a new facility aimed at helping them get jobs in the city. Scheduled to open at the end of January, Remploy’s new high street branch on Colston Avenue will provide a range of specialist recruitment and development services for disabled jobseekers wanting to return to work or enter the labour market for the first time. The branch will play a key part in helping Remploy quadruple the number of jobs it finds for disabled people by 2012.

Remploy’s Bristol branch will be the latest in a network of facilities opening throughout the country. Specialist advisors will work closely with Bristol’s Jobcentre Plus offices and employers throughout the city to ensure that people with disabilities and health conditions are considered equally when vacancies arise. Alongside this, the eight-strong Bristol branch team will provide basic skills and vocational training to disabled people, assisting them with job searching, offering help with completing application forms and arranging job tasters and interviews.

Manager Sarah Conlon has been appointed to head the branch, and brings several years’ branch management experience in the recruitment sector.

“There is huge potential to make a real difference in Bristol,” said Sarah. “Remploy is creating a high profile facility in this city, meaning that disabled people will have access to a quality service aimed precisely at helping them,” she said.

“Bristol has a vibrant economy and Remploy’s aim is to ensure our candidates share in the city’s success by helping them gain access to meaningful jobs with employers throughout the region. We are already working with key local employers including Asda, Morrisons, Wilkinsons, Avon and Somerset Police and the United Bristol Healthcare Trust.

“On a personal level, I am really excited to have the opportunity to use my existing recruitment skills and also to learn a lot more. I am looking forward to providing so many new services to disadvantaged groups, and to making a real difference to peoples’ lives.”

The opening of specialist high street recruitment branches is a key part of Remploy’s plans to support more than 20,000 disabled people into mainstream jobs over the next five years.

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