Blind need jobs in private sector

Jun 11 2008 by Bill Gleeson, Liverpool Daily Post

THE private sector must do more to recruit blind and partially-sighted people.

That is the view of Liverpool’s culture supremo Phil Redmond.

Mr Redmond, deputy chairman of Liverpool Culture Company and founder of Grange Hill and Hollyoaks television producer Mersey Television, is fronting an event organised by Liverpool City Council and the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

The event, called Hire Vision, takes place in Liverpool city centre on July 15, and its organisers are targeting private sector employers because blind and partially sighted people are under-represented in that sector.

Only 33% of blind and partially sighted people of working age are in work. The Hire Vision campaign aims to work with employers to increase awareness of the potential of people with sight loss, break down barriers to the creation of more jobs for people with sight loss and work with employers to create a range of opportunities for disabled people to move towards work.

The event takes place at the Marriott Hotel, Liverpool. It is aimed at senior managers, HR professionals and those that run corporate social responsibility programmes who are looking to pursue ‘best practice’.

The event consists of a series of practical workshops and talks by leading experts in the field.

“Your attendance will make a difference. Not seeing doesn't have to be the same as not earning. It's your business to see people with sight loss in work and its our role to make it happen. By being at the event, you will ensure that the Hire Vision campaign gets off to a successful start,” said Mr Redmond.

billgleeson