The Bridge to Employment Project has three strands; employability skill development, work experience, and social enterprise. Specifically for young people in Stewartry who have Autism Spectrum conditions and similar learning difficulties.
The Bridge to Employment is aimed at young people aged 16 to 25 who have autism spectrum disorders or related disabilities and have a variety of barriers that prevent them from accessing the traditional post-school options.
The aim of the project is to use a person-centred approach to develop unique opportunities for each young person that incorporates one or all of the following; employability skills, work experience and social enterprise.
The project is part-financed by the Scottish Government and the European Union – LEADER 2014 – 2020 programme.
The Bridge to Employment Project is unique to Dumfries and Galloway in terms of it’s delivery style and target group. There are no clear post-school options for the target group of more able young people with ASD and related disabilities, especially for those living outside of Dumfries. In Dumfries and Galloway there is no specialist employability provision for this group who may have communication challenges or need some extra support to develop essential core skills such as being able to travel independently, writing job applications, attending interviews, managing social interactions and working independently.
Organisations we are currently working in partnership with are:
D&G Chamber of Commerce
Third Sector D&G
DG TAP
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW)
D&G Council Autism Initiative
D&G Autism Network
Project Search
Princes Trust
‘Can Do’ Leonard Cheshire
Health & Wellbeing Team NHS
If you are a business or organisation who we could partner with please contact us.
* Coronavirus - Bridge to Employment Programmme* Due to the current situation our offices both in Castle Douglas and Stranraer are closed as of 19th March 2020. We will re-open when it is safe to do so. Stay safe!