Together with its EU partners, the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) is going one step further to help companies within the furniture sector who employ disabled workers.
SupportAbility is a follow up of the Working Tri-21 project which developed courses to support people with a disability for roles within the sector.
In the first phase of the project, the BFM has been involved in compiling a report identifying changing conditions in the employment of people living with a disability, following publication of the UN convention (ref: Article 27 in UNCRPD).
Jackie Bazeley, MD of the BFM, says: "The BFM is once again working with its EU counterparts to support SMEs within the furniture industry, who currently employ or may in the future employ workers with a physical disability or mental illness.
"The report looks at current resources within the sector, identifies good practice and achievements and aims to identify where alternative training for managers and staff can help improve outcomes."
The document also looks at the current capacity of international and European policy to deliver support for people with disability in the SME labour market. It includes a summary of individual country reports from Spain, Portugal, Turkey and the UK.
Jackie continues: "Our focus now is to research and develop a central bank of useful information and references which can be used by companies across the sector. We believe that, once completed, it will prove a really valuable resource. Once established the project emphasis will then shift to developing resources/courses to support management teams in furniture SMEs."
Further information on the project and report can be found here.
