ORT JUMP was delighted to host its first ever graduation for members of the Jewish learning disability and autism charity, Langdon.
The graduates, their mentors and the Langdon team were invited to celebrate the success of the pilot scheme with ORT JUMP at an online ceremony.
Due to the success of the ORT JUMP Mentoring Programme, in 2020 ORT UK undertook a partnership with Langdon to assist young people with learning difficulties to further improve their employability skills, enabling its members to lead independent and fulfilling lives.
As in the main programme, members met with their mentors online for a series of meetings throughout the year, exploring LinkedIn profiles, CVs, networking and interview technique.
As a result, members found their confidence in applying for jobs had increased, having gained workplace skills and one mentee has subsequently been offered an exciting new voluntary role! Langdon caseworkers benefitted from joining the sessions and learning employability skills from the mentors which they could pass on to other members. Mentors also gained knowledge from Langdon about how best to help their members fulfil their potential.
Alan Weinstock Director Of Business Development & Community Services at Langdon said:
“At Langdon, we’re always looking at how we can improve the quality of life for members we work with and when ORT JUMP approached us, we thought the concept of a mentoring programme was absolutely perfect. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with the organisation. The level of professionalism throughout the whole process has been brilliant, from writing the programme, to the depth of understanding to underpinning knowledge in the structure of the programme. Learning disability is an area that needs more focus regarding employment, so absolute credit to ORT UK for reaching out and finding groups in the community that they can help. The quality and calibre of the mentors recruited has been outstanding. Improving people’s skill sets, giving them confidence and all the soft skills you need to get a job have been embedded in the programme and it’s been absolutely brilliant.”
Langdon Graduate, Simon told us:
“ORT and my mentor have helped me a lot with self-confidence and skills and all sorts of things I probably had already, but they’ve increased. It’s given me more confidence to go for things instead of just holding back all the time. I’m very grateful. It’s been wonderful.”
While ORT JUMP Project Manager, Mia Lyons, offered her congratulations to all the graduates:
“ORT JUMP is an opportunity for young people to be mentored by professionals. The pilot programme undertaken with Langdon this year has been extremely successful as our graduates have benefitted so much from our mentors’ experiences in the workplace. Our mentors have also gained a lot from their relationships with their mentees. We really hope that all our Langdon graduates maintain the sense of confidence and pride that they felt on graduating the programme as they embark on any future interviews or applications. We’ve learnt so much from working with Langdon and we’re really excited to continue the programme next year, allowing more members this fantastic opportunity.”
If you’d like more information about ORT JUMP, or would like to become a mentor, please email jump@ortuk.org or visit ortuk.org/jump
