information

Key contact: Anne Ainsworth, Manager

Address: 195a Drumry Road East, Drumchapel, Glasgow, G15 8NS

Telephone no: 0141 944 4383

Fax no. : 0141 944 0509

Email: anne.ainsworth@thomasfortune.co.uk

The Thomas Fortune Work Centre in a nutshell

The Thomas Fortune Work Centre (TFWC) provides training for employment to 70 people with learning disabilities. Through real commercial work in a light industrial setting, we give people the social and technical skills they will need in the world of work. We also aim to provide the social support that people with learning disabilities often need to play a valued role in the heart of the community.

The issues addressed

TFWC is the only project in North West Glasgow that provides a route to employment along with the social support needed by people with learning disabilities. It is one of a very few projects in Scotland that can provide the bridge between social care and open employment.

It is also the first time that statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations in the area have jointly committed themselves to the provision of employment training for people with learning disabilities in the North West Glasgow area.

The Thomas Fortune Work Centre has two core aims:

• to demonstrate in a practical sense that people with learning disabilities are capable of fulfilling a valuable economic role

• to equip people with learning disabilities with the skills and values that they will need in the world of work

Only 5% of people with learning disabilities in Glasgow are in paid employment – TFWC aims to help end this economic and social exclusion and place people with learning disabilities in the very heart of the community.

The approach to the issues

The drive for the establishment of the Thomas Fortune Work Centre came from the need to provide training for work in an atmosphere that catered for the special needs of people with learning disabilities.

Through the Thomas Fortune Work Centre, we hope:

• To raise awareness of the fact that people with learning disabilities are capable of holding down paid employment if the right supports are in place.

• To demonstrate that people with learning disabilities are valued and respected as equal members of society.

• To show that the right to work and contribute to society is a basic human right for all groups.

• To show that people with learning disabilities, a group which is often marginalized, can be at the forefront of urban regeneration.

• To show that we are proud of Drumchapel and are proud of the people who use our service.

Evidence of success

• The project has secured a five-year commitment to funding from Glasgow Learning Disability Partnership with likelihood of extension.

• The project has encouraged the regeneration of the whole site. A new Citizen’s Advice Bureau has opened along with another separate training centre.

• TFWC is currently commissioning a feasibility study with a view to establishing a community cafe on the site, which will also serve as a training project for people with learning disability.

• TFWC generates over 25% of its income through fabrication and assembly work from contracts with a range of private sector companies.

• The Centre is currently operating at full capacity and has a waiting list.

• TFWC received a Highly Commended award in the Partnership category at the 2004 Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum Awards.

Setting up the project

Established at its current site in November 2002, the Thomas Fortune Work Centre was based on a previously existing social care project. The initiative was led by ENABLE Glasgow, a leading learning disability charity in Scotland, in partnership with Glasgow City Council and a local private sector property developer. The Centre was developed on the previously derelict site of a former BT workshop with capital costs jointly met by the three partners.

The Centre is now fully occupied and although run by the voluntary sector, TFWC is a key part of Glasgow City Council’s Equal Access to Employment Strategy. Establishing the Centre has added to the existing amenities of Drumchapel centre and provided an additional community resource to draw people into the area from other parts of Glasgow.

Partnerships

The project’s success is underpinned by its approach and commitment to partnership working. From the outset three very different organisations from the voluntary, public and private sectors worked together to plan and develop the project:

• ENABLE Glasgow who run the project

• Glasgow Learning Disability Partnership including Glasgow City Council Social Work Services provide funding support

• Private sector business who provide the premises and additional income through commercial work

Learning points

• We feel that it is important to be very clear about the aims and objectives of the project throughout the proposal stage, and not be deflected from these when dealing with the inevitable setbacks that arise in joint working.

• It is important to identify early on ‘project champions’ in the various agencies involved, who will share enthusiasm and commitment.

• This project benefited from the involvement of service users and their families right from the very outset. Their enthusiasm was and still is highly motivating for all the agencies involved and working together.

Final Message

Centre Manager Anne Ainsworth says:

“It is not often acknowledged that people with learning disability can play an important role in the physical and economic regeneration of our communities. Through our work at Thomas Fortune we aim to give people the skills they need to move from the margins to the mainstream, and to support them to play a valuable role in community life”.