Action 1.2A: Implement targeted recruitment of disabled people to enhance organisational understanding of inclusive recruitment practices.

Guidance

Ireland has amongst the largest gap between the percentage of disabled people in employment and the percentage of the general population in employment in the EU.

“If you’re a genuinely inclusive employer, there wouldn’t be a need for quotas”.

WIDE Consultation Participant – Employer

Targeted recruitment drives are a useful way for organisations to play their part in addressing this gap. They support the organisation to increase the number of disabled employees they hire and develop a better understanding on how to make their mainstream recruitment practices more inclusive.

“There should be quotas put in place for people with disabilities. And even specific positions for disabled people to reach these quotas”.

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disabled Person

As recognised during the consultation process, an inclusive employer should aim to be reflective of society and seek to mainstream inclusive practices accordingly as they learn through engagement in targeted recruitment drives, therefore minimising the need to continuously repeat them in the future.

Depending on your organisation’s size and where it is at in its inclusion journey, targeted recruitment may include:

• Developing recruitment drives in which positions are ringfenced for disabled candidates, usually in partnership with a DPRO/DPO or disability NGO. This type of action is support by the Employment Equality Acts (EAA) which allow for ‘positive action’ measures to target underrepresented groups.
• Developing disability specific ad campaigns to support recruitment for positions open to all, to emphasise the company’s commitment to a disability inclusive workplace and increase interest from potential disabled candidates.
• Offering paid work experience and work placement opportunities to disabled students in partnership with Education and Training Boards, Universities or DPROs/DPOs/NGOs, to support their employability and add value to your organisation.

“There should be many paid job shadowing internships and apprenticeships for disabled people – utilise the Wage Subsidy Scheme”.

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disability Organisation

In line with the UN Sustainable Development goals principle of reaching ‘the furthest behind’, its useful to note that people with intellectual disabilities have the poorest employment outcomes amongst disabled people, and that several voices in the WIDE consultation processes expressed the view that as a result, hiring people with intellectual disabilities was ‘the gold standard for inclusion’, and could maximise learning for employers.

“Inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities at work should be the gold standard of inclusive employment, as it has significantly lower rate of unemployment”.

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disabled Person

There are specialised organisations who provide supported employment and inclusive pathways to employment and can partner with employers. See Resources below.