Walk into a better career

Less than 15 per cent of people with an intellectual disability are employed. Great Place to Work (GPTW) partners with WALK, a charity dedicated to improving that figure.

Unfortunately, Ireland has a poor track record of employing disabled people of working age — the fourth lowest in the EU. That is despite the fact that people with disabilities seek employment at pretty much the same rate as the non-disabled workforce.

Walk supports people with intellectual disabilities, providing them with the tools they need to reach their full potential in the workplace. It also helps organisations to prioritise accessibility and create a more inclusive workplace for all.

The charity was set up in 1969 as a small community-based centre recreation centre in Dublin. “In those days the only option was to go into institutions, and a lot of families didn’t want that. So this gave them an option,” says Catherine Kelly, WALK’s deputy chief executive.

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“It started out supporting just five or six people, and we now support more than 300 people a year. We support people who want to have a normal life whether in relationships, third-level education, or employment. We support people at an individual level to achieve their dreams.”

It has pioneered several workplace initiatives, including Owl, the Oireachtas Work Learning training programme introduced in 2018.

Each year the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, along with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, provide workplace settings for 10 Owl trainees.

Graduates of the programme develop skills that allow them to be work-ready, helping them find meaningful and viable employment in the wider civil and public service. “It was the first such programme of its kind in any parliament in the world,” says Kelly.

Walk has undertaken similar work-learn programmes with public and private sector employers such as Tallaght University Hospital, Pfizer and Amazon. Traditionally employers relied on IQ or aptitude tests in recruitment. “We were able to find alternative pathways in for people with intellectual disabilities,” she says.

Partnering with Great Place to Work gives WALK an even wider platform to promote inclusive recruitment practices.

“GPTW wanted a partnership that was collaborative and have offered us a platform to discuss the work of WALK, to discuss the abilities that someone with an intellectual disability can bring to the world of work, and for its members to learn how best to support people with intellectual disability. And GPTW has provided us with organisational services such as help with our website and with social media,” she explains.

GPTW companies often facilitate workplace visits for Walk’s school leavers, to help build their understanding of the world of work. Others provide work experience.

“Staff in such companies support the person in learning tasks, to see what kind of work they might want. They might provide mentoring too. If the young person says they want to work in hospitality say, the mentor can help them understand the kind of work involved, and help them with their CVs and interview skills,” says Kelly.

Companies that support WALK in this way help a person with intellectual disabilities enormously. But givers gain too.

“When a person with an intellectual disability comes into a workplace, it changes the culture for the better. People become more caring about one another, and it opens up conversations where others feel they can talk about their own mental health issues too,” explains Kelly.

Having staff with an intellectual disability can help employers to meet specific business needs. “WALK supports career development, not just jobs, but a pub might be particularly busy between 12 and 2 o’clock and most people don’t want to work just two hours. But a person with an intellectual disability might do, and so can provide that flexibility,” she says.

It’s why increasing the employment of people with intellectual disability is a winner all round. “We haven’t had an employer say they wouldn’t do this again. Not only are most companies’ doors open to us but in fact they are knocking on our door, not the other way around,” says Kelly.

“And as someone who was a nurse in a large institution 20 years ago, the difference in people’s lives now is just amazing.”