Equal opportunities

Jo Bowyer, 33, has hemiplegia - muscular weakness on one side of the body. Two years ago, she felt that she had to resign from her previous job, due to a lack of support from her employer.

After being out of work for six months, Bowyer was referred to the Shaw Trust's Work Choice programme, a governmentsupported employment programme for people who may find it difficult to find or keep a job due to their disability.

After several applications, Bowyer was delighted to accept OCS's offer of a cleaning operative position at the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) headquarters in Taunton. She has been employed with the OCS team at UKHO for over 16 months.

OCS has worked with Bowyer to adjust her work schedule to ensure that she can cope, and Shaw Trust bought her a cordless vacuum to make work easier.

'I really enjoy work now and my employers are very supportive,' says Bowyer.