Learning Disability Week spotlight: Unity Works
Unity Works is a specialist organisation that creates opportunities and showcases talent for people with a learning disability who want to work.
The charity works with the Council’s adult community learning service, Greenwich Learns, as one of the key providers running courses for people in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Since partnering with the Council in 2022, over 100 local people have gained skills, achieved qualifications and gone on to secure jobs through this adult community learning programme.
Unity Works’ courses also have a focus on how to access services, facilities and opportunities, so that people can make positive decisions about their lives and fulfil their potential.
This Learning Disability Week, we caught up with the Marie Bune (MB) from Unity Works, to hear more about the organisation and the courses they run for our residents, supported by the Council. We also heard from Martin Maddocks, one of the learners, about his experience on one of the courses.
Can you tell us a bit about what Unity Works offers in Royal Greenwich?
MB: We offer a range of Adult Community Learning classes for adults with a learning disability. These courses focus on skills development, employment support, health and wellbeing that support our work in creating opportunities and showcasing the talents of people with a learning disability. Often learners start with attending a Health and Wellbeing course to build their confidence and develop a growth mindset. They then progress to attending an employment focussed course such as My Career which focuses on employability and being job ready.
What is the value of adult community learning for Unity Works?
MB: We value really getting to know our learners and personalising their learning to improve their employability, the visibility of people with a learning disability to employers and their strengths as employees, and to improve their participation in the local community.
What do you like most about delivering the adult community learning courses?
MB: We enjoy the time that we get to spend with learners, understanding where they really need supporting to get back to work. It’s so nice to see their journey and how they become more confident in themselves.
What are some upcoming course highlights we should look out for?
MB: Upcoming course highlights are Travel Training to help learners navigate their way to appointments and Ask the Employer events, where learners can get to know more about working in specific industries such as catering, administration and the media industry. We will be running Let’s Talk sessions which focus on improving physical and mental health, and looking at the link between them.
Martin Maddocks, one of the learners on the Let’s Talk course focused on searching for a job, said:
“The course is enjoyable, and I like being in the classroom with the other learners. I also know how to better phrase a CV so it’s more useful and think about the roles that I am really interested in, such as a Team Leader. I have set realistic goals now which are achievable. I use LinkedIn to apply for jobs in retail and admin which we did on the social media course. It also made me more aware of fake jobs and fake news.
“I also can talk about my learning disability, compared to back in the day where men did not talk about their feelings. This has given me more confidence in the classroom and helped my partner to see my emotions more clearly. I set high expectations for myself, and this course has helped me to understand why I do this.”
Get in touch with Unity Works to join or find out more about the courses by emailing acl-courses@unityworks.org.uk or calling 0788 5226 417.
Find out about all courses available through Greenwich Learns.
See what’s on in Greenwich for Learning Disability Week.
More local services