An organisation committed to helping young people with special educational needs and disabilities [SEND] get into work has launched an interactive work experience portal with the help of Kidderminster-based marketing agency, Citizen.
Worcestershire-based Ductu gained the agency’s services after being awarded a county council grant to receive free marketing support.
Citizen was handed the brief to develop a marketing strategy, implement social media campaigns and help promote interactive video content for the new portal, which is designed to assist the learning of SEND students by providing meaningful workplace experiences with large, branded employers including Hobbycraft, Halfords and RAC.
These experiences, which include educational trips, work placements, and supported internships, are designed to aid students in their journeys to becoming ‘recruit-ready’, so Ductu can help them enter paid employment once they have left school.
Jem Jones, Director of Ductu, explained: “Less than seven per cent of adults of a working age who have special needs or are disabled are in paid employment, meaning the remaining 93% are not.
“This is a huge, untapped pool of dedicated and hard-working people, and it is our goal to help employers gain access to this group and change the lives and career prospects of these young adults in the process.”
Ductu recognised the need for effective marketing to support the launch of the portal, and saw the opportunity to do this with Citizen’s help.
Jem continued: “Though we had used marketing agencies in the past, none had really understood what we were trying to achieve, so I’m thrilled to say our experience with Citizen has been totally different.
“Not only is it a well-established agency with an impressive range of clients, but we got on with the team immediately, and were so impressed by the huge amount of time and effort they put into researching who we and our target market are.
“As marketing is not my area at all, it is so nice to have a firm like Citizen on board who we can trust, and the results that we have seen already have been amazing.
“For me, as a small business owner at a time when running any business is especially difficult, the support from Citizen has been absolutely invaluable.”
Charlotte Holmes, Director of Citizen, said: “It is a pleasure to be working with Ductu in bringing their portal to the attention of more SEND schools across the country.
“The work that they do is genuinely life changing for the young people they support, and to be playing our part in helping them achieve their goals feels truly special to all of us at the agency.”
