Twenty-two people with learning and intellectual disabilities have been employed on contract from Empower, the social enterprise which was officially launched on Tuesday, board of trustees chairman Joe Gasan told The Sunday Times.
More people would be encouraged to work if their disability pension were not affected
A team of eight are carrying out production line support at Playmobil (Malta); 14 are providing back office services to MSV Life. They are in turn supported by four qualified assistants.
“Empower, legally established as a co-operative a few months ago, is a non-profit organisation run as a business that seeks to offer the skills of trained people to the local commercial community,” Mr Gasan explained.
“Its mission is to identify the aptitudes of people with learning or intellectual disabilities who would like to work, organise training for them, and then act to facilitate their employment with third parties in suitable posts. Any profit made by Empower is re-invested in equipment and tools for training purposes.”
Established partly with EU funding, Empower seeks to identify job opportunities for vulnerable people who are often sidelined from the workforce with their potential going untapped. Its name and mission are eponymous: it aims to empower people with challenges like autism spectrum disorders and Down Syndrome through apprenticeship schemes or job opportunities to foster independence.
Under a partnership with Inspire, the foundation for inclusion, and in turn with the Employment and Training Corporation, Empower’s future employees are trained for several months.
Training involves the enhancement of a wide range of social skills, the teaching of the value of money and respect for superiors. After an assessment of their potential, they undergo job skills training in disciplines like basic administration or food handling.
Many of Empower’s employees are in their 20s. The company hopes they will follow in the footsteps of other vulnerable people who in recent years were found placements by adult job developers and now occupy a wide range of full- and part-time roles, including assembly operator, assistant gardener, clerk, stores assistant, and loader.
“So far, Empower has been a great success,” Mr Gasan said. “The lives of the 22 employees we have placed have been considerably enhanced. This is not a new concept to Malta but we intend our business model to be as organised and efficient as possible. Empower could also be a launch pad for vulnerable people to find permanent jobs with new employers after they fulfil their initial contract.”
Empower is striving to train as many people who show a willingness to work as it can, in a bid to have employees available on its books to contract to third parties. In this way, it is also able to offer replacement workers should its employees become unable to fulfil their work commitments with Empower’s clients or require retraining.
Mr Gasan pointed out there were potentially a few hundred people who wished to go out to work and who could join Empower’s waiting list. The company hoped to have around 50 on its books in its first year and eventually increase to 100 or more.
“We need the business community on board to give us a chance to showcase our employees’ skills and indicate how they can do something positive for them,” Mr Gasan emphasised.
Empower Co-operative Ltd’s board of trustees comprises Playmobil (Malta) chief executive officer Helga Ellul, Inspire chief executive officer Nathan Farrugia, Alberta Group director Liz Barbaro Sant, Collis Williams’ Eric Fenech Pace, and lawyer Andrea Gera de Petri. It is managed by Antonello Gauci and programmes are run by Marilyn Spiteri.
Mr Gasan said the trustees planned to eventually identify premises where it would base dedicated training programmes.
Mr Farrugia told The Sunday Times it was important that stakeholders, including the authorities, stepped up efforts so that more vulnerable people could be motivated and empowered to lead a purposeful life.
A particular issue which required urgent attention was the threshold to which people with disabilities were able to work. He said more people would be encouraged to work for longer than 20 hours weekly when regulations are amended so that their disability pension was not affected.
Mr Farrugia also called on authorities to draw up a formalised framework for social enterprises.