Apologies for cross-posting - I have been asked to forward this email by Chris Hughes from the Careers Service at the University of Manchester.

 

Enable your students with Disability Toolkits for career success

Employers often cite work experience as one of the key things they look for in their graduate recruits. Now, a new UK internet resource will help university students with disabilities to gain work experience which could prove crucial for their future careers.

Disability Toolkits - www.disabilitytoolkits.ac.uk - is a free, interactive, web-based service providing dedicated information, advice and resources for:

a) Students with disabilities

b) Academics involved in any form of off-campus learning for disabled students

c) Prospective employers

Areas covered include: work experience opportunities; disability-friendly employers; disability disclosure; sources of funding and support; legal matters; best practice, and general advice on understanding specific issues and needs.

Officially launching in October 2005, a pilot version of this national website is currently online. Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, it is non-profit making and its services are free to all users. It has also been endorsed by key employers throughout the country, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers.

We hope you will agree that Disability Toolkits could be an invaluable resource for your students, and would be grateful if you could help us to promote the site to its target audiences.

For example, it would help if you could:

1. Create links from relevant pages on your institution’s website to www.disabilitytoolkits.ac.uk

2. Ensure all disability officers, careers advisors and student union officers are aware of the site, and able to recommend its services to students

3. Inform academic supervisors via your usual methods (e.g. email, memos, newsletters, etc)

4. Refer businesses who offer work placements to your students to the site

We are also looking for case studies from representatives all off three categories of users, detailing their experiences undergoing, organising or providing work experience. If you are able to source any for us, or simply provide us with potential contacts, we would be extremely grateful. Please contact Chris Hughes ([log in to unmask]) for further information and a list of relevant questions.

If you would like assistance with any of this, please let us know. We will be in touch again, closer to the launch, with further information and assistance with promotional materials, should you require any. In the meantime, many thanks for your attention.

To find out more, contact Chris Hughes, project manager for Disability Toolkits and a careers consultant at The University of Manchester: 0161 275 2828 / [log in to unmask]

www.disabilitytoolkits.ac.uk

 

Elaine Shillcock

Head - Disability Support Office

Office if the Deputy Registrar

University of Manchester

LG27 John Owens Building

Oxford Road

Manchester

M13 9PL

Tel. 0161 275 7512      Fax. 0161 275 7018

Minicom. 0161 275 2794

Text 07899 663512 / 07899 658790

 

This email and any files sent with it are intended only for the named recipient and may be confidential. If you are not the named recipient please email the sender immediately then delete this message. You should not disclose the content, distribute or retain any copies of this message.

If you are the intended recipient of this email and the content of this email concerns one or more disabled students, please bear in mind that the information that it contains may be confidential and that medical history information in particular may be very sensitive.  Information is disclosed only to facilitate support of that student.  Recommendations made for the support of the student are unlikely to be confidential, but the reasons for those recommendations may be.