An Aberdeen company has been spreading the festive spirit by helping those with learning disabilities make Christmas decorations.
North East Community Workshop (NECW) has been running since 2013.
Every year the crew of workers with learning disabilities toils hard to package up all manner of things to get the homes of Aberdeen ready for Christmas.
Bobbles and candles are packaged into cupcake boxes, selection boxes are wrapped up with festive paper, and potpourri is bundled together in gift wrap.
In the process, the company offers people the opportunity to gain work-related training by awarding certificates for each level of training they achieve.
Anyone is welcome to come into the workshop to buy the decorations once they are finished.
Manager Lind Westbrook said: “Christmas is a special time for the workshop because it changes what they are working on and everyone’s in the festive mood.
“They enjoy doing it which is the main thing.
“The decorations are very popular and make the perfect gift.”
‘It was like Santa’s Grotto in here’
Some of the Christmas decorations require glitter and glue to make – causing the workshop to become very colourful.
Mrs Westbrook said: “It was looking like Santa’s Grotto in here a while after.
“We were finding glitter in places I never knew glitter could get to.”
‘They get so happy when people buy stuff’
The workshop has sessions throughout the week, with some members coming every day and others only once. While in operation there is usually three staff for the 12 residents.
Assistant manager Nina Robertson said: “They all love it here.
“They get so happy when people buy the stuff they are making.”
After their years of practice, the workshop residents have been getting more productive.
Mrs Westbrook said: “They are a productive bunch, sometimes I have to tell them to slow down so I can keep up.
“They have been doing this for years so they really know what they are doing.”
Successfully moving on to work
The workshop usually packages things like birdseed and golf tees.
All of its operations go towards helping its clients get into employment in the community.
This year they have been helping workers check emails by introducing iPads for them to learn IT skills from.
One person has been undergoing training with Shmu, a community media organisation in Aberdeen.
Another has been working in a cafe in Inverurie, and someone has been getting involved with Riding for the Disabled Association.
One person, with a talent for maths, has begun to work on inputting data into the workshop’s accounting spreadsheets.
Alastair Law, who leads the organisation, said: “There are a lot of people out there with skills, but their potential is not used.
“They might never have got the support they needed in school, and are capable of more than people think.”
People can visit the workshop’s website if they know of any local businesses that have a suitable job for the workshop, or if they know of someone with disabilities that might want to take part.
The workshop is located at 35 Holland Street, Aberdeen.
Conversation