RWA complements the government's New Deal scheme which concentrates on training to prepare disabled people for work. There are, however, already many skilled and enthusiastic disabled people on the lookout for an employer ready to give them a chance. RWA was conceived last year when two disabled journalists, Nick Lewis and Michael Turner, identified a communications gap between, on the one hand, progressive employers looking to extend their recruitment net to include disabled people, and on the other, disabled people looking for work. Disabled people are nearly three times as likely to be unemployed as anyone else in the jobs market. RWA is distributed free to disabled people looking for a job through the Employment Service s Disability Employment Advisers, Local Education Authorities Careers Services, University Careers Services, Disabled People s Organisations, and Training Colleges.
Individual subscriptions are also free.
As a journalist he has done many jobs, including selling advertising space and selling newspapers on the street. Michael Turner is a freelance writer and researcher in the disability field with extensive experience of working on a range of issues with a variety of clients. RWA Internet publication is from the week of receipt to the application deadline. RWA bulletin is published monthly in print, with fortnightly supplements. Jobs for disabled people are of crucial importance, but, so far, the opportunities have been limited by prejudice against disabled workers and ignorance of their abilities.