Alan Browne & Shirley Agnew

The challenge

The Northern Ireland census shows that 23.5% of the population are registered disabled for whom it is four times more difficult to secure and retain meaningful employment. In 2009, 48% of care leavers aged 18 were unemployed.

The vision

Restaurant 180 provides unique training opportunities to young people with learning disabilities. The concept of the 180 degrees restaurant is to take the classroom into the workplace. If young people are to learn to work then they need to experience the workplace to attain work social skills and put them into context. 180 degrees provide a quality restaurant experience for both customers and trainees.