It’s time for a reality check– there’s no perfect candidate out there.
Our talent pool has been over-fished, leaving recruiters struggling to recruit. But there’s one pond that’s currently being overlooked… In the UK, there are 7 million people of working age who are disabled or have a health condition. And many of these are currently unemployed or seeking work.
Are companies afraid of hiring disabled candidates?
In a workplace that is seeking diversity, equal opportunities for men and women, people from different backgrounds - people with disabilities are still being left out.
An award-winning success story
Paralympian Georgie Bullen is one of five people in the UK with a rare form of macular degeneration, meaning that she has just 12 degrees of vision. When Georgie was told that she wasn’t going to be able to continue her A levels due to the dangerous straining of her eyes(which could have lead to complete blindness) she was devastated. Her dreams of going to University were shattered. Having been at a mainstream school all her life, for the first time Georgie felt disabled. Entering the world of work, she found that she couldn’t get a job as employers didn’t know how to adapt the role (or the workplace) to her needs.
This is not surprising when you learn that 73% of blind and partially sighted people in the UK are unemployed.
Eventually Georgie picked herself up and thought– perhaps I’m focusing on the wrong thing? Why do employers find it so hard to employ blind or partially sighted people? The misconceptions around blindness mean that employers often think you are blind, not realising that there is a spectrum. Why should everyone be labeled and assumptions made?
At that moment, Georgie decided to start her own business, introducing her sport (Goalball) into the workplace as a team building experience. With the support of Prince’s Trust, Georgie now uses her disability to enable others. Read more about how she overcame adversity in the workplace.
By employing people with a disability you are:
- Opening up applications to a new pool of talent
- Increasing diversity in your workplace
- Introducing new skills
- Increasing your understanding of others in the workplace
- Sending a message to clients on the type of company you are
- Making a positive impact on the disability employment gap.
If you are interested in learning more about the vast resources available to help support you with the hiring of those with disabilities, you can sign up to become a Disability Confident Company (follow the link for more information).
Join the movement and embrace disability in the workplace – and attract the talent you’re searching for.