To say Daniel’s a pretty active guy is a bit of an understatement – he swims with the Down Syndrome GB team, plays football with Everton in the Community and is due to compete at the Trisome 2020 Games Antalya, Turkey in April.
On top of this, he is employed by Partnership for Learning Charity (P4LC), a charity that provides its clients with state-of-the-art training and conference facilities.
Workfit North West had a wonderful opportunity to catch up with Daniel and find out more about his position within the charity.
Daniel discovered WorkFit through a family friend who had recently obtained a paid position with the support of the programme. He contacted WorkFit and following a home visit, he was invited to visit P4LC to meet the team and see if it was somewhere he wanted to work.
Maureen, CEO of P4LC made Daniel feel very welcome and just 8 weeks into his 12 week work experience he was offered a paid position as a Facilities Assistant with the charity. Daniel has mastered his busy role involving food preparation, maintaining the kitchen and conference areas and keeping customers fuelled throughout the day.
‘Working at PFL has given Daniel a great sense of achievement. He is proud to have a job and be the same as his brother and sister. It has given him purpose and he enjoys the banter and fun of being part of a team. Daniel’s confidence has grown significantly since he started work, and he has developed a sense of responsibility by getting up early and making sure he looks smart.’ Francesca, Daniel’s mother
This sense of pride was reflected when WorkFit visited P4LC, after having a tour or the centre, Daniel commented that he enjoys everything about his job. He said: ‘I really like the people I work with and I love the lunch.’ Amongst the lively football banter between colleagues Daniel said the only thing he didn’t like was that everyone was a red and he’s a blue!
The staff team reflected that they had seen Daniel develop his skills and become much more confident since starting the role in November 2018. Maureen CEO said: ‘Daniel is just a joy, he is part of the team and has settled into his role well’.
Daniel clearly loves working at P4LC; he is a popular and well-regarded member of the team. He receives outstanding support from his colleagues at P4LC, who are passionate and committed and we are very grateful for their continued dedication to the WorkFit programme.
To find out more about WorkFit and how we support people with Down’s Syndrome to access meaningful work opportunities that can benefit the rest of their lives, please contact the team on 0333 12 12 300 or email us on dsworkfit@downs-syndrome.org.uk
For more information visit the WorkFit website: www.dsworkfit.org.uk