REMPLOY aims to make 2005 a year in which we encourage employers in Wales to give more job opportunities to disabled workers than ever before.

Our company came into being exactly 60 years ago and is now the UK's largest provider of employment opportunities for disabled people.

We have changed a lot since the early days when we created factories (including 11 sites in Wales) to provide jobs for disabled people.

We've developed a range of very successful businesses, from furniture making to recycling white goods, and we have very successful factories in Abertillery and Croes-penmaen where we produce automotive components and packaging products.

However, Remploy is also working to create job opportunities for disabled people in other organisations and has been doing it with increasing success.

Our employment agen-cy arm, Interwork, finds work for disabled people with a wide range of employers and last year we supported more than 6,000 applicants.

Many were helped to enter inclusive environments at BT, Asda, the Driver and Vehicle Licen-sing Agency, NHS trusts and a range of other public and private bodies.

We're at a crucial stage in the development of employment for the disabled. We have the government's desire to get more disabled people into work, signalled by the recent extension of the Disability Discrimination Act.

We are finding a growing pull from employers driven by labour shortages and the demands of corporate social responsibility.

There is a strongly-voiced demand from disabled people for more opportunity and a clear message for all to look for inclusive solutions.

Now is the time to bring these imperatives together to make real progress.

To focus everyone's work we are planning a major conference in 2005 to bring together interested parties to debate and chart the future of employment opportunities for disabled people.

I feel that this year should be much more than just a celebration of Remploy's 60th birthday; we need to look ahead.

Remploy has made a major contribution to the employment of disabled people over the decades and we are determined to do even more in the future.