Inclusiveness and Disability training for land based businesses

A course aimed at giving land based businesses and activity providers in the Cairngorms the knowledge and practical experience to include disabled people in their activities is being run in Grantown-on-Spey on Wednesday 7 June.

Organised by the Land Based Business Training Project at the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), and delivered by Equal Adventure, the event is designed to give a better understanding of the Disability Discrimination Act as well as giving businesses and organisations tips on making their facilities and venues more accessible and inclusive.

Equal Adventure, based at Glenmore Lodge, is a specialist in delivering this type of training. Suresh Paul, Director of Equal Adventure said: “The course will explore inclusion and physical access and address the apparently hard-to-handle issues relating to people with disabilities. The idea is to help local businesses to develop their ability to cater for the expanding inclusiveness market.”

The Land Based Business Training Project Manager, Kate Christie explained: “The Park Authority has a commitment to develop inclusive practices within the Park and wants to encourage businesses and other organisations to cater as well as possible for disabled people.

“This course is free of charge and aims to demystify the issues around disability and help land based businesses and activity providers develop their market potential by showing them how they can provide inclusive services and comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.”

The Land Based Business Training Project is funded by the CNPA and the European Social Fund. It is open to any business that is involved in the use or management of the land including estates, farms, crofts, forestry operations, outdoor recreation businesses and horticultural nurseries.

The project can part fund courses which will help improve the competitiveness and efficiency of a business such as the use and maintenance of machinery, equipment and vehicles; environmental courses; IT and business skills and health and safety. Fully funded courses are those which deliver public benefits such as training relating to outdoor access, disability awareness, communication or this course relating to disability awareness.

A further course on disability awareness will take place on 8 July and places are still available. There will also be more activity based courses later in the year relating to disability issues.

For more information on the Land Based Business Training project please contact Kate Christie on tel: 01479 870535 / email: [email protected]  or Sara Krawczynska on tel: 01479 870537 / email: [email protected]