Introduction Thirteen years ago, three blind* graduates started “Blind in Business” to make it easier for other blind graduates to get good jobs, especially through technology. *Here, when we use the word ‘blind’ we include those who are partially sighted and those who are blind That’s what they did. It’s what we do. We encourage blind and partially sighted young people to identify and achieve their ambitions. We help blind and partially sighted graduates into careers. We do these things by listening, talking and making sure they have the right technology. We do it all free and throughout the United Kingdom. It works. We make a difference. We go into schools and show visually impaired children how much they can look forward to, with the most advanced equipment - hardware, software that turns the written into the spoken word, braille and other simple solutions. They may go on to University and graduate. In our office we help them with everything they need to get a good job, especially through the many graduate recruitment schemes, in Information Technology, Law, Accountancy, Human Resources, General Management and Marketing. The careers are as various as the degrees. What they need is CONFIDENCE. Not much different from everyone else. We know that organisations want to employ those for whom we work. They too need confidence: how will a blind person work in an office? How can a visually impaired person do a job so far done only by people who can see? By the end of our talks with employers, they see clearly how it can be done. Often very simply. Once they - candidates, employers and pupils - have confidence and the direction and concentration that confidence gives, good jobs are obtainable. The Chairman of ‘Blind in Business’ is a Director of LloydsTSB. He is blind. One Trustee is Chief Executive of Cincinnati Bell Inc. He is blind. Two Trustees have senior positions in law firms. Each is blind. All have risen in the ways we try to help young blind people to succeed. We like continuity We start by showing blind schoolchildren what technology can do for them, we talk to their parents and teachers so they too can raise their expectations. We concentrate on some through mentoring - especially when they come to London and see blind people who work in good jobs with the help of the same technology they use in school. We talk with those who go forward to college or university and we keep in touch as they move towards degrees. We give them interview practice, advice on CV design, a reading service, scribing (scribing is writing out the application form for blind candidates), assessments and ultimately the confidence to get jobs they might only have dreamed about. The major change in the thirteen years since this small operation started is the increase in the number of blind people getting good jobs and making use of the advances in technology. A decade ago, technology was limited. Now it changes at speed, bringing benefits to those for whom we work. And so we will go on. Michael Kenny Director Training Young blind people often are not even aware of the latest technology that could help them, or of the careers that are open to them. There often isn’t enough help - mostly knowledge and guidance - for blind school leavers to make career choices they should be able to make. It is hard for them to get the right sort of work. It is hard for everyone. For blind people, limitations are imposed by history and tradition and they can be faced with traditional occupations. There are not very many of them: they include piano tuning, bicycle repair and the most recent is call centres where they make cold calls. Our training programmes give them the knowledge, the skills and the confidence to become responsible for finding a career. We go into schools and work with children and their parents and teachers, so all of them can learn and benefit from technology. They begin to believe they can do what they want to do. More than this, they find they can do a great deal more than they ever imagined they could do. They become unlimited. Training programmes FUTURE FOCUS This course describes the many careers available to young blind people and gives them a realistic and imaginative idea of what they can do. We go into schools and colleges and talk with the students about their futures. Through these courses, we show them how to find out about the range of employment prospects before them, their strengths and weaknesses and how to be realistic about the great number of jobs now open to them. We show them how to get these jobs and how to use technology at home and at work. They find out how to move to further education, perhaps to University, and as they focus on the future, that future widens. EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED Young blind people tend to have less confidence and lower expectations than those who can see. Their families may have low expectations too, and think that the only openings for their children are in the traditional jobs that are stereotypes for blind people (mattress making, for instance) - if they can get any jobs at all. We hold workshops at which we challenge these low expectations by giving the practical support and knowledge that parents need. They need to have their own expectations raised so they in turn can raise the ambitions of their children. We do this by describing the wide range of educational and employment opportunities open to their children. At these workshops, we have three to four blind people who have succeeded in getting good jobs. They come as role models to reinforce the ideas we put forward. There is always movement forward after these courses - the acceptance of unknown opportunities, strengthened determination to go through further education and perhaps to University. The often limited ideas of parents and children are replaced with a range of choices, and this encourages them, so they too can think widely and ambitiously. TOTAL TECHNOLOGY There aren’t many people who know enough about technology for blind and partially sighted people. We do. We know and describe and show the benefits it can bring to people at school, college university and at work. All our training reinforces the idea that information technology is the key to helping young blind people to move forward fast. Technology itself changes fast. We always have three to four suppliers of the latest technology to demonstrate it at our courses, to show young people what there is. The variety of equipment is considerable. So is the excitement when pupils try it out and find it helps. As the course progresses through the year, more sophisticated equipment appears and is introduced. Pupils find that if they have the right piece of technology, they can DO far more than they thought they could do. There are so many advances but one of the most useful is software that translates the written word into speech. A blind person can have information scanned into a system which then reads out the data at a convenient speed and in one of several accents and many languages. You can see straightaway how this changes lives, helps at school and college, at university and at work. And how it helps get these people jobs. Other developments include magnified font sizes so characters can be more easily read, monoculars to enlarge the writing on a blackboard and hand held, digital magnifiers that enlarge print greatly. Technology moves ahead fast and with it, so do the people for whom we work. Schoolchildren can try the technology, see what suits them, what they like. They might not be able to afford it at once, but to know it exists raises their expectations of themselves. Then they can go on with confidence to achieve these expectations. MENTORING The advantages of showing schoolchildren the latest technologies are obvious. So too are the advantages of showing their parents how others have succeeded in good jobs. But most young blind people need more concentrated, longer term and individual advice. We started mentoring in Birmingham, by giving that concentrated support to people, their families and teachers. We invite them to London to meet successful role models in their offices, at their place of work. Aged between fourteen and eighteen, their confidence and ambitions for the future rise straightaway when they stand in an office with a blind person who is well paid and who uses much the same technology that they use at school. A-Level Scheme This concentrates on students who are studying A-Levels or have recently received grades. It gives them realistic options about their future and helps them to direct that future towards successful employment, not necessarily by going to University. Employment Our Employment Service has a great deal of experience in all aspects of recruitment and selection. Our specialist knowledge combines an understanding of recruitment procedures with practical knowledge of the requirements of blind graduates. Many blind graduates face difficulties in applying for jobs or places on graduate training schemes. We work with them and with graduate employers to make sure that the common problems of the selection process are removed so that blind candidates can have a fair chance of showing their capabilities. OUR WORK WITH JOB SEEKERS The EMPLOYMENT SERVICE works with blind graduates and undergraduates throughout the country, giving them information on companies recruiting graduates and on vacancies to apply to, especially through Graduate Recruitment Schemes. We pass on information about recruitment programmes in accessible formats – it’s accessibility they need, when it is hard or impossible to read. We help with completing application forms, CV advice and interview practice. We provide assessment centre skills and reassurance that they won’t be disadvantaged. We provide access to the right technology for work enabling candidates to experiment with equipment they might not have used before, to see how the latest hardware and software will help. We help them with the Government -funded “Access to Work”, which pays for them to have the right equipment to do the job, once they have got the job. OUR WORK WITH EMPLOYERS The EMPLOYMENT SERVICE gives EMPLOYERS practical help in making recruitment procedures more accessible. This means helping employers to attract blind applicants and allowing them to participate fully in assessment centres. We hold workshops for Human Resources staff, interviewers and assessors involved in recruitment and create a matching service between vacancies and candidates. An employer can be as diffident as a blind potential employee – how will the employee get about, do the job, fit in? We give the employers advice and help to defuse these anxieties. We do it before they take on any blind candidates and during the induction period so movement is smooth and professional. As part of this work, we hold seminars for team managers on integrating blind people into work, give introductions to contacts in other companies already employing blind people and the best advice on the latest technology. There is a move towards on-line recruitment and we give support in using this medium. We work closely with test publishers so they produce papers that are accessible to blind people. Many companies rely on paper-based testing materials. We give advice on the most appropriate format to ensure the candidate can take part fully. We do not get jobs for anyone. The candidates do that themselves. EMPLOYERS AND GRADUATES Several times a year, we hold training days for potential employers and blind graduates. They can be for one day for instance at the Bank of England, through one of our Trustees. Or two day courses at SHL management Centre (SHL is a world leader in objective people assessment based on psychometrics). A group of highly professional people help us work with at least 20 blind graduates and 20 of the top employers. They give mock interviews and personality assessments. The graduates and employers come from across the UK. The employers begin by being nervous, with the ordinary anxiety that anyone has at meeting new people and the added worry of dealing, perhaps with a dog, or a person not looking straight at you because he can’t see you. We remove these anxieties by describing how the graduates have got to the positions they are in now, and telling the employers to treat them exactly as they treat all candidates: firm, probing, questioning. The difference is that afterwards, the employers tell the graduates how they performed and the graduates do likewise. And the blind graduates dress formally, as though for a real and formal interview, they behave as though they have got to the point of interview - they take it seriously. And all benefit from the practice and the feedback. By the end of the day, both graduates and employers are relaxed. A great deal of hard work has been done, mostly to create a permanent confidence in both sides which leads to blind graduates getting the best jobs and employers being enthusiastic to take them on. Then, the twenty blind graduates go water skiing. Summarised Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 March 2005 Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds £ Funds £ 2005 £ 2004 £ Incoming Resources 131,197 142,208 273,405 246,747 Resources Expended Fundraising costs - 27,516 27,516 21,637 Management and - 35,847 35,847 25,580 Administration Cost of activities 54,621 99,516 154,137 149,637 Total Resources 54,621 162,879 217,500 196,854 Expended Net movement in funds 76,576 (20,671) 55,905 49,893 Fund Balances Brought 144,183 80,265 224,448 17,455 Forward at 1 April Fund Balances Carried 220,759 59,594 280,353 224,448 Forward at 31 March Summarised Balance Sheet at 31 March 2005 March 2005 March 2004 £ £ Fixed Assets 585 1,187 Current Assets 335,382 249,071 Creditors 55,614 25,810 Net Assets 280,353 224,448 Funds: Unrestricted Funds General Funds 220,759 144,183 Restricted Funds 59,594 80,265 Total funds 280,353 224,448 Trustees’ Statement These summarised financial statements may not contain sufficient information to allow for a full understanding of the financial affairs of the charity. For further information the full annual financial statements, the auditor’s report on those financial statements and the Trustees’ Annual Report should be consulted; copies of these can be obtained from “Blind in Business”. The full annual financial statements, from which these summary financial statements are derived and on which the Auditors gave an unqualified opinion, were approved on the 26th May 2005 and have been submitted to the Charity Commission. On behalf of the Trustees. David Watson, Treasurer. Auditor’s Statement Independent auditors’ statement to the Trustees of “Blind in Business”.We have examined the summarised financial statements set out above. Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Auditors. The Trustees are responsible for preparing the summarised financial statements. We have agreed to report to you our opinion on the summarised statements’ consistency with the full financial statements, on which we reported to you on 14th July 2005. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this statement is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing. Basis of Opinion. We have carried out the procedures necessary to ascertain whether the summarised financial statements are consistent with the full financial statements from which they have been prepared. Opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements are consistent with the full financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2005. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors. London.4,448 How do we work The orginsations and grant-making Trusts who help us do this work include: Many of these Trusts and Companies have given us grants over two to three years, so that stability and continuity can be maintained. This is vital in a small service charity. The Livery Companies of the City of London have been especially generous, both by coming to see what we do near them in the City and by making grants for us to do this work. We are one of the few charities in the City of London, and the City very much supports our work. We are grateful for the support of the Corporation and of the Worshipful Companies of: Mercers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Merchant Taylors, Ironmongers, Vintners, Clothworkers, Painter Stainers, Scientific Instrument Makers, Lightmongers. As well, many people give as individuals. They often want to be anonymous, but we thank them here.. The Bank of England Henry Smith Charity BBC Children in Need Equitable Charitable Trust Vision Charity Rank Foundation Bridge House Estates Trust Fund M&G Group PF Charitable Fund HSA Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales Anton Jurgens Blachington Court Trust Richard Cloudesley Charity Paul Hamlyn Foundation Marsh Corporate Services NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd Future Link Software Marit and Hans Rausing Charitable Foundation ASAP Office Services Ltd Baring Foundation The Earl and Countess of Wessex Charitable Trust Erste Bank Woodward Charitable Trust (Sainsburys) Linklaters Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust Eveson Charitable Trust 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust Birmingham City Council P&O Steam Navigation Company Morgan Stanley International Foundation HSBC Rayne Foundation Marks and Spencer plc London Sports Forum for Disabled People The Board of Blind in Business Chairman John Spence MBE. Director of Lloyds TSB Treasurer David Watson, ACA. Finance Director of Morley Fund Management Peter Parsons, past Director of Kleinwort Benson and of Daiwa Europe Neil Heslop OBE. Chief Executive, Cincinnati Bell Steve Norton, Business Unit Director, Fujitsu Jonathan Rushworth, Partner, Slaughter and May John Trundle, Head of Business Continuity Division, The Bank of England Richard Hanson, Head of Property Litigation, Eversheds Simon Meredith, Partner, Cameron McKenna Patrons Pen Kent CBE Past Director of The Bank of England, Director of the Strategic Rail Authority and Deputy Chairman of Heart of the City Baroness Nicholson Member of the European Parliament Sir Colin Southgate Past Director of the Bank of England, past Chairman of Thorn EMI, EMI Plc and the Royal Opera House Rodney Galpin Non-executive Director of P&O S.N.Co and at one time an Executive Director of the Bank of England and Chairman and Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank Sir Anthony Cleaver Chairman, of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Sir Peter Gershon CBE HM Treasury Employers These are some of the firms and companies and organizations interested in the employment of blind graduates: BDO Stoy Hayward BT Centrica Citigroup Civil Service Selection Board Deloitte and Touche Deutsche Bank Diageo HBOS John Lewis Partnership Littlejohn Frazer Lloyds TSB Lloyds TSB Registrars Logica CMG NHS Norwich Union Royal Bank of Scotland Group Procter and Gamble PricewaterhouseCoopers Sainsburys Security Services Shell Vodafone WH Smith CMS Cameron McKenna Goldman Sachs JP Morgan Lehman Brothers ABN Amro Blarcays Home Office For more information on Blind in Business please contact us: Employment Gen Herga & Clare Young employment@blindinbusiness.org.uk Training Dan Mitchell & Justin Harrison training@blindinbusiness.org.uk General contact details: Tel: 020 7588 1885 Fax: 020 7588 1886 Address: Blind in Business Wingate Annexe St Alphage House 2 Fore Street London EC2Y 5DA E-mail: info@blindinbusiness.org.uk Web-site: www.blindinbusiness.org.uk