There has been some talk in the press of recent about being Disability Confident. So what exactly is being disability confident I hear you ask? It’s what the government would like employers to be – so they will then employ more disabled people in their workplace. The government feels that employers aren’t always as willing to employ disabled people – and this is the gap the DWP’s campaign is attempting to close. Disability Confident was initially launched in July 2013 by the then minister for disabled people, Esther McVey.

But do you think this is possible? Linda Burnip, co-founder of DPAC, is for being disability confident: “If any of the firms there had been serious about employing disabled people they would have done it in the last 30 years and not just show their face at some ‘posh do’.” She also says that not all disabled people can do enough paid work to earn enough to live. On the other hand disability consultant Phil Friend expressed that the government was focusing on the wrong people. He said that if it wanted to narrow the unemployment gap, the DWP should be helping the disabled to become more confident in themselves.

There has been many Disability Confident Conferences around the UK. Where employees have the opportunity to:

• Hear announcements on what the Government plans to do and hear how other companies changed their thinking to improve both their business and their workplace.
• Meet a range of successful and talented disabled people who tell their story of the things and the people that helped them get into work and stay there.
• Learn the facts about employing disabled people and gain the practical tools and advice you need.

Here at More Than Mobility we hope these conferences make a difference.