Disabled HGV driver takes to the road
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Joe Gracey from Easterhouse has just finished his driver training with Remploy in partnership with Christian Salvesen and Reed-in-Partnership. Gracey, who has not worked for almost 12 years, says he is over the moon with his new career.
'This has been a fantastic experience', he said. 'Both Remploy and Reed have done an excellent job, and there is no way I could have done this without them. Doing the training with Tony McGrory from Remploy was hard work, and taking the various tests was nerve wracking, but Remploy and Reed were behind me all the time. The guys at Christian Salvesen were also great, and I am really looking forward to this two week trial before I get my own rig.'
Driver trainer, McGrory says the partnership between the three companies has worked extremely well. 'We all work together to get disabled people back into a working environment. By mixing the specialist disabled recruitment skills of Remploy Interwork with the high street presence of Reed in Partnership we are able to access a huge pool of highly skilled people. Bringing someone back into work when they have been absent for many years requires a lot of dedication, not just on our part, but on theirs as well. Joe has been an inspiration and I wish him well in everything he does', he said.
Danielle Doyle of Reed-in-partnership hopes that schemes such as this will promote a new response from employers. 'It is time attitudes changed. Employers need to realize that there is a great wealth of talent and knowledge available in the disabled community. People want to work, and they should be given every opportunity to do so.'
The logistics training scheme is just one of a number of initiatives for disabled people currently being driven by Remploy Interwork. Anyone interested in them should contact Remploy Interwork on 0845 8452211 or email realjobs@remploy.co.uk
