If you have a disability or health condition that makes it difficult for you to find or keep employment, then MTIB and Work Choice may be able to help you.

Work Choice will bring together the best elements of WORKSTEP and Work Preparation into a new unified programme which will improve our existing specialist employment services so they better equip disabled people to move into, retain and progress in employment. The new programme is aimed specifically at those customers who, by reason of significant disability, cannot be helped into employment through JobCentre Plus mainstream programmes. It will create a more flexible, easy to use service that is better at enabling Jobcentre Plus frontline staff and our external partners to meet the needs of individual disabled people and their employers. A single programme will deliver this with a flexible modular approach in which customer control and choice is embedded. It will promote more active customer involvement

The key principles to be observed for Work Choice are:

• a greater focus on those who need specialist support;
• less prescription and greater flexibility;
• better links between elements of provision;
• better consistency and quality of provision;
• provision for all types of disability;
• more opportunity for the customer to exercise choice and control;
• a greater focus on job entries;
• improved support for people in either employment or self employment;
• improved progression to unsupported employment;
• a greater emphasis on achieving potential within longer-term supported

MTIB and Work Choice provide a wide range of supported work opportunities that meet the differing needs of people with disabilities and reflect the demand of the local labour market.

MTIB and Work Choice offer a range of support to both employers and employees and practical help includes, for example, job trainer or job coaching, mentoring from colleagues, advice and awareness help to the employer and employees

If you would like further information on the Work Choice programme, please contact any of our Work Choice team on (01685) 370072