Remploy and Shaw Trust

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Do you have any success (or bad) stories with them? Apparently NAS Prospects have teamed up with Remploy, but I don't know if that makes them any better or not.

My main concern is getting placed on a workfare scheme or something. Or is that mainly a threat from the Jobcentre?

My uncle has met with the Shaw Trust and had a good experience. He has chronic fatigue syndrome though, not ASD.

tom worked for remploy for a while and it was very horrible, I will nag him to call you to talk about it, he worked with them for quite a long time. He is having loads of job centre stress since he moved out and wants to claim esa as he is so stressed by the job centre interviews and the workability courses. It will do him good to talk to you about it, he doesnt get to talk enough to others, he is very isolated and down.

Hi guys. You can find more information about Remploy on their website

It is also possible to register online and gain access to the resources and chat to iAdvisors for more detailed information.

Have you been referred to a Remploy branch on Work Choice?

Hey LB. It would be nice to speak to Tom, but if he doesn't want to be bothered, I don't really wanna force it. Was it that Costco thing? Or was that ages ago?

iAdvisor: I haven't been referred, but I have the option to go voluntarily. I've already had a look at the website. Do you know anything about the NAS (National Autistic Society) link with you?

Thanks all for your responses, though the more the merrier.

Ok brilliant, may I ask what you thought of our website as it has recently been updated?
In answer to a lot of the above questions; Remploy is a service which will change all the time depending upon what contract we are delivering on behalf of the Government and any experiences had by people a few years ago may be very different to those recently - though not in ever case I guess. Plus different members of staff have different expertise so a big piece of advice I would give anyone who is referred to us is don't be afraid to ask questions! Find out what we can do for you, find out what support we believe you would benefit from, find out what our key skills are so that you know the right person is assigned to you and feel free to ask for any changes if you feel it is necessary; our service is all about getting you the right help and support so if we can adapt to suit your needs then we will certainly try
Our online service - known as iRemploy - is a relatively new venture which doesn't require a referral so is much more open for people to access but also gives more independent working. There is a live chat function too where you can speak directly to a real live human - all of the iAdvisors are staff who also work within a branch somewhere so will have the same knowledge and expertise to give you some valuable help or feedback. Feel free to make use of these services if you aren't attending a branch for support.
In terms of our relationship with NAS, we have signed up with them as a partner so that they can refer people to us who they feel would benefit from our help but also, we work with them to ensure we understand how best to support people on the Autistic Spectrum to make sure we do our jobs to the best of our ability. NAS give our staff advice, training and guidance, but also they may help us in supporting any candidates or their parents/carers who aren't already working with them.
I do have to say that I find it disappointing when some people have had bad experiences with Remploy in the past, I have worked here for 2 years and I'm really proud of what we do and the people we help but it's important that the people who aren't happy do speak up so that we can make changes and offer support in the right way

Sorry, one more thing to add!!
With regards to being put on a 'workfare scheme' or something similar - we do offer work trials and work placements to support people but usually this would only be in a sector of work which you have expressed an interest. i.e if you said you wanted Fork Lift Truck work I would not send you to work as an Administrator as this makes absolutely no sense!
The aim of these work placements is to find people employment and give them experience so it makes no sense for us to send you anywhere that you don't want to go.
'Send' is not the right word I guess as it makes it sound like it is a forced thing
Lots of people may not get the chance to do a work trial or work placement, it isn't something we can always guarantee availability for unfortunately, but when we can get people onto a placement they will be statistically more likely to obtain employment as a result which is why we try to help people with these.
If interviews is something you find challenging, surely being able to demonstrate to an employer that you are capable of doing the job is a much more sensible way of being assessed for a position? Having said that, you are welcome to choose the interview route if this is your strength.
I hope that all makes sense?!