British Council Northern Ireland has demonstrated their commitment to colleagues by taking part in training that will ensure their staff are equipped to provide excellent customer service to people with learning difficulties and communication barriers.
Staff have recently taken part in JAM Card awareness training which provided them with the knowledge they need to ensure that users of the JAM Card feel welcome in their organisation.
The JAM Card, which stands for Just A Minute, is a social innovation from NOW Group an organisation that supports people with learning difficulties and autism into employment. It was their service users who said they would like a discreet way of telling people that sometimes they need a little extra time and patience. The JAM Card was created first as a credit card sized card and has recently been developed into an app for smartphones.
Speaking about the initiative was Jonathan Stewart, Deputy Director, British Council Northern Ireland.
He said: “British Council Northern Ireland is delighted to be part of the JAM Card initiative. As the UK’s principal cultural relations organisation the British Council is strongly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. Our work is centred on building meaningful, enduring and respectful relationships across different cultures and we cannot do this if we do not have a commitment to equality, inclusion and valuing diversity.”
You can find out more about the JAM Card at www.jamcard.org and NOW Group at www.nowgroup.org.