AN extra £830,000 is being spent on a programme to provide jobs and training for hundreds people in Bristol with learning difficulties and autism.
The We Work for Everyone programme, run by the city council, has already engaged 699 people in Bristol and 1,272 across the West of England. By August this year, 201 people had entered paid employment, including 95 Bristol residents.
The team running the programme has worked with employers including Aardman Animations, Bristol Zoo and Airbus.
A bid for extra funding was approved at a cabinet meeting in November.
In Bristol, there are 1,035 people with learning disabilities of working age who are supported by adult social care. Only 46 – less than 5% – are in paid employment.