Nuneaton social enterprise company supplies signs for HS2

Social enterprise firm Nuneaton Signs has been supplying signs used during HS2 works

A social enterprise firm that prioritises employing people with disabilities has been designing and supplying signs for HS2.

Nuneaton Signs, based in Warwickshire, secured £1.6m in contracts to provide signage used during work on the high-speed rail project.

More than 70% of its 73 staff members has at least one disability, it said.

Becky Anderson, senior account manager, said the company wanted to help people who might struggle to get work.

"We want to bridge that gap," she said. "We want to show them that they don't need to think about what they struggle to do, they need to focus on what they can do."

The company, on the Attleborough Fields Industrial Estate, was established in 1982, having originally been set up as a Sheltered Workshop.

It was certified as a social enterprise firm in 2018, enabling it to provide meaningful employment and training for people with disabilities.

Nuneaton Signs said more than 70% of its 73 members of staff had at least one disability

Ms Anderson said 71% of staff that currently worked at the company faced mental health issues or have physical or learning disabilities.

"We want to build on their confidence, build on skills and make them more employable to other businesses," she explained.

"And show other businesses that it's not scary to employ people with a disability."

'Support phenomenal'

Ms Anderson said employees had also been provided with equipment, including adjustable desks and chairs, to cater for individual needs.

The HS2 contract had meant the "absolute world" to the company she added, explaining money had enabled them to invest in people and technology and to provide further opportunities.

"We've managed to achieve so much with it and we can't thank them enough," she said.

"We want to get these young people as many skills as they can possibly get, and having the support of outside companies is just phenomenal."