On Wednesday (March 21st) Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Trailblazers held the first Employers Working Group meeting as part of the Employability project. City Bridge Trust have funded MDUK to develop policy recommendations to get more disabled people into work. The meeting was at the Guildhall in London and saw employers across several sectors come together to discuss disability in the workplace.
The Working Group discussed disability throughout the recruitment process and in the workplace to understand what employers think and might have concerns on when hiring a disabled person. Employability Officer Emma Vogelmann encouraged the group to be open and honest as this will allow the policy recommendations to target the correct areas and be well informed. The meeting was a great success and there were lots of interesting points made.
Susie Worster from Wall to Wall attended the meeting and said:
“We had a great session. Being able to discuss the benefits and issues around working with disabled people has been very helpful and hopefully will pave the way for more collaboration in the future.”
Sharon Jacques from Amnesty International who also attended the meeting said:
"The meeting was a great occasion to network and develop my knowledge base around diversity hiring and what organisations can (and should) do. The opportunity to talk openly, and safely, with other organisations, was invaluable. I am really looking forward to what we can achieve!"
Emma Vogelmann who led the meting said:
“I was so pleased with how the meeting went. The best part was that the attendees felt able to speak honestly and openly about disability. This will not only benefit my work but it also allowed them to learn from each other and bring new ideas to their organisation.”
If you’re an employer and would like to join the working group, email our campaigns team: campaigns@musculardystrophyuk.org