Leep1 and The Advonet Group are working on a National Lottery Community Funded project called Leep1 Inclusion For Employment (LIFE).

This is a project to help people with learning disabilities keep a job and help their voice be heard at work.

This project started in March 2024 and will last for three years.

Our goal is to make self-advocacy training for people with learning disabilities to help them tell people what they need at work and understand their rights.

We will also be giving employers resources and training to make them better at working with people with learning disabilities.

We will be recruiting several people with lived experience of a learning disability to different roles. These roles include a mentor and people who train others.

We know that employment is important to people with learning disabilities in Leeds. There are very few people with learning disabilities who have a job, and a lot of people find it hard to keep one.

Teaching trainers

As part of this project, we will teach people with learning disabilities to be trainers. We will also employ some people with lived experience of a learning disability to train others to be good self-advocates at work.

In the first year of this project, we will recruit two people with lived experience of a learning disability who are already part of The Advonet Group. They will be members or volunteers already. These people will train others to be self-advocates at work.

From the second year, we will look at growing this project to train people outside of The Advonet Group.

For more information or to get involved, please contact our Learning Disability Manager Alex Toothill at [email protected].