BASIC runs a highly successful vocational project aimed at getting people with brain injury, neurological injury or spinal injury back into the workplace or into some useful and satisfying occupation.

Since it started in 2005 over 450 clients have been helped to return to their jobs, found new full or part time paid work, have moved into placements or voluntary jobs or embarked on training. Just under three quarters of clients are now in paid work.

Said Vocational Consultant Philip Johnson: “We recognise the talents and contribution that our clients can make in the workplace and the immense therapeutic effect of work to their well-being and confidence. At the same time we also understand the barriers they may face and the perceptions that employers may have about taking on someone with a brain injury.

“We work intensively with individuals to find the right job for them, while at the same time talking to employers about their needs. We aim to provide the right person for the right job and to offer all the support needed to make their return to work a success.”

The support on offer includes one to one vocational counselling to produce a personalised job profile based on a thorough knowledge of the person’s ambitions, previous experience, and abilities. Vocational staff negotiate with individual potential employers, explaining clients’ specific strengths as well as what adjustments may be necessary to accommodate their disabilities.

Ongoing support in the workplace is offered for as long as necessary.

As a City and Guilds accredited training centre, BASIC also offers pre-vocational services, such as in-house training in literacy and numeracy. Other classes are on offer, for example art and music therapy. BASIC also runs courses in computer training, confidence building and motivation in partnership with a local college. Currently a media course in video production is proving very popular with clients.

BASIC’s vocational project also places emphasis on the rehabilitation of cognitive abilities which may have been affected by brain injury and neurological conditions and which can make everyday life, including work, more challenging. Vocational Consultant, Mary Todd, runs weekly group workshops and one to one cognitive training aimed at improving these important ‘thinking skills,’ including memory, concentration, thinking speed, planning and organisation.

Mary said: “The majority of people with brain injury will have some problems with memory, concentration and planning-skills, which they took for granted before their injury. We run group and individual sessions which give people a chance to practise these skills with others who have the same kind of problems and to learn strategies to help work around these difficulties.”

Those enrolled on the vocational project can also take advantage of the other facilities BASIC has to offer, such as complementary therapies, counselling, cognitive behaviour therapy and the assisted gym.

Phil said: “ We are lucky in that all out clients are keen and motivated to move on with their lives. Sometimes they need help with getting back into their job after a few months away, but often they have been out of the workplace for years simply because they have not had the right kind of help from people who understand their particular difficulties. Whatever their aspirations we hope we can offer the kind of help they need to achieve them.”