We’re Turning Potential into Purpose with WeMove

As the year closes, we celebrate a partnership that has quietly reshaped lives and workplaces across Worcester. Breede Valley APD’s WeMove Project, funded by ENGEN and implemented through our MoreThanMeerAs Shukuma Programme, invited youth with disabilities into a personal change‑readiness and job‑preparedness journey.

Together, we delivered targeted training and open labour market readiness interventions that helped persons with disabilities move from preparation to real work opportunities.  The results speak for themselves: skills gained, confidence rebuilt, and meaningful employment secured.

MoreThanMeerAs brought a practical, person‑centred approach to every stage of WeMove.  That meant combining skills training, therapeutic follow‑ups, employer sensitisation, and structured work readiness so beneficiaries were not only job capable but job confident.

• Tailored training: Two rounds of MoreThan Personal Growth & Creative Training prepared 18 beneficiaries alongside facilitators as well as the job coach.
• Ongoing support: Monthly therapeutic follow‑ups and corporate sensitisation sessions improved workplace integration and placement success.
• Realistic readiness: A one‑month structured work readiness programme ensured participants could meet full‑day work expectations before placement.

This blend of practical skills, emotional support, and employer engagement is what made placements stick.

Over a period of three years, the WeMove Project reached beneficiaries at different stages of readiness and supported them into the open labour market:

• Year 1: 67 participants; 13 placed in practicals; 6 secured permanent employment.

• Year 2: 33 FCAs completed; 8 placed for practical experience; 8 moved into the final “Moving Out” group; 1 secured permanent employment; and 1 beneficiary passed their driver’s licence.
• Year 3: 16 FCAs completed; 11 placed for practical experience; 5 secured permanent employment.

Additional outcomes include 17 local businesses joining the programme, at least one company changing employment policies to improve access, and at least one business employing beneficiaries from every year group.

Numbers tell part of the story; transformation fills in the rest.  Beneficiaries reported renewed hope and increased independence.  Employers described improved workplace adaptability and a shift in how they view ability and contribution in the workspace.  For many, the practical placements were more than work experience, they were a turning point that restored dignity and opened new possibilities.

One of our USPs is that we don’t deliver one‑size‑fits‑all training. We design integrated, scalable programmes, unique to every scenario or project, that change how people see themselves and how employers see potential. Our strengths demonstrated in WeMove are the following:

• Holistic preparation: Combining skills, therapy, and workplace coaching.

• Employer engagement: Practical sensitisation that leads to policy and practice change.

• Scalable design: A pilot that proved transferable across workplaces and cohorts.

If your organisation wants interventions that produce measurable employment outcomes and lasting shifts in workplace culture, MoreThanMeerAs has the track record and the approach to make it happen. Get in touch with us today!

WeMove is more than a pilot project, it’s a blueprint.  The project’s success shows how targeted training, consistent support, and employer partnership can create real pathways to work for persons with disabilities.  As we move into the New Year, MoreThanMeerAs is ready to scale such interventions, deepen employer partnerships, and continue turning potential into purpose across the Western Cape.

MoreThanMeerAs is preparing people, changing perceptions about themselves, and creating opportunities that last.  Contact us about collaborating today. 

083 654 3939 / andri@morethanmeeras.co.za.