Congratulations to Tony Vincent and Chris Surr on winning Champion of Equality and Diversity at the Asian Fire Service Association Awards for their work on the Change100 programme.
The Change100 programme, run by Leonard Cheshire Disability, provides employment to talented students and graduates with disabilities and long term health conditions. It aims to remove barriers in the workplace that people with disabilities often face. It provides them with 100 days of paid work experience, in addition to six insight days over six months. Alongside this, Change100 set interns up with a mentor within the company who provides support to them throughout their time with the company and beyond.
We’ve taken part in the programme for three years now, and 12 interns have joined us in departments all across the Service, ranging from Communications and Engagement to Finance to Resourcing and Development. Three of these interns have since joined us in full-time employment.
Tony is our co-ordinator for the programme, alongside his role as Head of Business Information and Systems. He provides guidance and mentoring for the interns, as well as working alongside Chris, who is our Employer Relationship Manager at Leonard Cheshire, to ensure that our interns get the most out of their time with us.
We look forward to furthering our partnership with those at Change100 in the coming years.
Nikki Richards, Director of Support Services, said: “We have been enriched by the different perspectives that these interns and those at Change100 have brought us. We firmly believe that, by having a ‘one team’ approach and making our Service more accessible to all, we can become more accessible to the people we serve.
Congratulations to Tony and Chris on your win.”
If you’d like more information on the Change100 programme, or would like to apply to be part of 2020’s cohort, please visit the Change100 website.