Client Profile: The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB)
In the second instalment of our Client Profile Series for 2022 we profile the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB)
The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) is Ireland's independent state body which assesses personal injury compensation. They facilitate a fair and transparent injury assessment process and engage all parties in a straightforward and efficient way.
It was an honour for Ability Focus to be selected by PIAB to deliver Live Online Disability Awareness Training to colleagues across the entire organisation through our customised disability awareness training programmes in 2021. We delivered three programmes to three hugely engaged groups and as always, this level of genuine interest from participants makes the job of the training facilitator much easier.
Where PIAB really stood out to us was with the level of interest from individual participants in contacting Ability Focus on completion of each disability training programme. At Ability Focus we always encourage participants to email questions/comments on a one-to-one basis after each session. Participants from each of the three disability training groups really took advantage of this, emailing questions and relaying their own stories in relation to disability and inclusion. This level of openness from colleagues is always a good sign of a disability inclusive organisation.
The training programmes were delivered in one virtual sitting, each lasting 2.5 hours. Riona Hegarty, HR Manager with PIAB progressed this disability training initiative working with Ability Focus over a number of weeks to ensure a programme was rolled out which empowered PIAB staff in the area of disability inclusion.
Training was received so well that Riona and the team at PIAB scheduled a further 1-hour disability awareness webinar for PIAB staff on December 3rd - International Day of Person's with a Disability. For this talk Riona wanted a focus on non-visual disabilities in the workplace.
It is always great to see organisations go beyond their obligations to deliver disability awareness training and to truly embrace disability inclusion as part of organisational structure.
Having worked with PIAB it was great to get such positive feedback from Riona Hegarty:
"In PIAB we don't just accept difference - we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees and our service delivery. We know it takes people with different ideas, strengths, interests, ability and backgrounds to make our organisation succeed.
PIAB's Disability Action plan focuses on 3 pillars of 1) building awareness 2) improving participation and 3) availability of our service to all. In delivery some parts of this plan we engaged with Ability Focus to facilitate three training sessions on Disability Awareness to all PIAB staff. The feedback from colleagues after completing the training was that they felt empowered and more confident in supporting people with disabilities in both their personal and professional lives. Ability Focus's training it this area is considered, interactive and beneficial to anyone who attends."
Riona Hegarty, Human Resources Manager, PIAB
If you are considering Disability Awareness Training for your organisation, please get in touch with Ability Focus by calling (01) 699 1150 or email info@abilityfocus.ie and we will be happy to discuss a customised programme to suit your disability training needs.
Ability Focus is the leading provider of disability awareness training in Ireland. Our training programmes are CPD accredited, IITD Endorsed and delivered by qualified trainers with over seventeen years' experience working in disability inclusion.
