REMPLOY Radcliffe is calling upon businesses in the area to "Double the Opportunities" for disabled people in the workforce.

The appeal is part of a national challenge launched by the employers' body, the CBI.

Remploy, based in Eton Hill Road, Radcliffe, warns that as 20 per cent of the working age population is disabled, employers facing skill shortages will miss out on a pool of talent and expertise if they do not attract and retain disabled staff.

Companies are invited to sign up to the scheme, undertaking either to employ twice as many disabled people as they do already or to look at employing a disabled person for the first time.

Remploy's Interwork division will provide companies with a complete support service, sourcing suitable applicants for vacancies and providing practical support to both employer and employees.

Specialising in supporting employment placements, Remploy Interwork already operates in partnership with more than 2,500 businesses throughout the UK.

Remploy regional manager John Waterhouse said: "Organisations will find that by adopting such a policy, they will not only meet their corporate social responsibility targets but find that their commitment will assist them in tendering for many contracts from companies which demand evidence of such a policy.

"Remploy is the UK's largest employer of disabled people and we are living proof that employing people with disabilities is cost-effective and efficient."

Further information about the "Double Your Opportunities" scheme, or about employing disabled people generally, can be obtained by ringing 0845 845 2211.