Dream JOB GET THAT
WORDS BY JANE HATTON
WHERE TO FIND CAREERS SUPPORT?
W
e know that disabled people face additional barriers when looking for work. Inaccessible recruitment processes. Recruiters and employers who somehow think that disabled candidates aren’t as good as non-disabled candidates, or will be expensive, risky or problematic. Not knowing which of the employers who say they are inclusive really are, when it comes to disability. There are many places that offer careers support. But at Evenbreak, a specialist job board run by and for disabled people, our candidates were telling us that often the general careers support available wasn’t suitable or available to them. Either it wasn’t accessible, or relevant to disabled candidates, and was perhaps delivered by careers coaches with little understanding of the disabling barriers we face. Or the provision had restrictive eligibility criteria – dependent on which postcode you live in, which benefit you’re on, how old you are, or you’d be ‘too disabled’ or ‘not disabled enough’ or have the ‘wrong’ impairment. We really wanted to fill this huge gap in existing provision, and at the end of last year, we received a grant from Nesta to enable us to do just that. We developed the Career Hive, which offers relevant and accessible careers support specifically for disabled people looking for new or better work. It is developed and delivered by disabled careers professionals with lived experience of the barriers we face.
There is signposting to other organisations, which may be able to offer specific support, and a whole load of online resources, including videos, checklists, guides and so on. There are regular events and workshops, including ‘Meet the Employer’ events, where particular employers tell you about the kinds of roles they offer, what the recruitment process looks like, how to ask for adjustments and what they are looking for in candidates. You can also ask them questions. There is, of course, access to the Evenbreak job board, where employers who are specifically looking to attract more disabled candidates advertise their vacancies. Employers like Channel 4, John Lewis, Unilever, Tesco, Facebook and many more. Most importantly, there is access to a team of qualified careers professionals with lived experience of disability, who offer individual support, whether help with a CV or preparation for an interview, or confidencebuilding or identifying transferable skills. This may be a one-off coaching session on a specific issue, or a series of sessions looking at a range of issues. All aimed at meeting your needs. This new service was co-produced by the Evenbreak team (all of whom are disabled) and a focus group of Evenbreak candidates, as we wanted to ensure that the service met the real needs of disabled candidates. The service will be continuously improved through responding to feedback from people using the service. Other services planned for the future include offering peer support from successful candidates who can mentor and support other candidates. If you feel you would benefit from careers support offered by and for disabled people, come and have a look around. To find jobs from inclusive employers who are looking to attract more disabled candidates, have a look on the Evenbreak website at evenbreak.co.uk. To find relevant and accessible careers support for disabled candidates have a look on Evenbreak’s Career Hive at hive.evenbreak.co.uk.
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