When you hear the word ‘disability’, what do you think of? Most readers tend to think of the more traditional disabilities – a friend who has a physical disability, a colleague who is blind, a neighbour who has Down syndrome. But are you aware that disability also includes the following? Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s Disease, Long Term Illness, Depression, Dyslexia, Cancer, Chronic pain. And many more…
The chances are that if you are an L&D professional, you have had a learner with any one of the above conditions participate in training within the last week. If you work in any mid to large sized company, you almost certainly have someone with a disability working in your business right now. Did you know:
* According to the Central Statistics Office there are up to 1.1 million people living in Ireland who are limited in social and professional activities ranging from some extend to a great extent?
* Up to 80% of all disabilities are invisible.
* 70% of all disabilities for adults at a working age are acquired during a person’s adult working life.
At Ability Focus, as disability inclusion specialists we deliver Disability Awareness Training on a daily basis across Ireland. From our experience of training delivery we do not encounter a wide ranging understanding of disability. This lack of awareness not only applies to learners, but to many working within the L&D space. As L&D specialists we should ask ourselves:
* How confident are we when it comes to our own awareness of disability?
* Do we know the appropriate terms to use when delivering training to a group which has disabled participants attending?
* Are we confident of our knowledge of equality legislation and its relevance to disability?
* Do we know the barriers to training that many disabled people face?
* Do training programmes ensure access for all or are we inadvertently excluding some?
When awareness of disability is minimal, support levels can quite often lack. This applies to every profession, including the L&D space. This lack of awareness is known as the ‘disability knowledge gap’; Addressing this disability knowledge gap is vital if we are to provide true social and economic inclusion for up to 1.1 million people in Ireland who are classified as having a disability. As professionals who specialise in identifying ways for organisations to evolve and develop, those working in Learning & Development can greatly influence how businesses choose to address this knowledge gap.
This must start with greater awareness of disability. So, how can L&D specialists play a part in ensuring greater awareness of disability? Through education, and most importantly through inclusion of disability awareness training.
Disability awareness training aims to educate participants around core aspects of disability and disability related issues, with the objective of creating a greater level of knowledge and confidence when engaging work colleagues and learners with disabilities. As we progress slowly towards greater recognition of the importance of disability inclusion in Irish workplaces and steadily increasing numbers of people living with a disability, disability awareness training is now being considered not just as a module in Diversity & Inclusion training but as an important standalone training programme.
At Ability Focus we believe the Learning & Development profession can play a pivotal role in ensuring organisations commit to creating greater awareness of disability. As the drivers of key development programmes and initiatives, ensuring that disability awareness training is part of your L&D strategy can result in an organisational shift in attitude towards disability. This is not only a positive shift, but a shift which will result in a host of proven economic, cultural and social benefits, which include:
* Increased innovation
* Improved employment opportunities
* Improved market share
* Increased workplace productivity
* Enhanced reputation
Disability awareness training should be cross departmental in delivery, including participants from all areas of the business including senior management, human resources, talent acquisition teams as well as general colleagues at all levels of the business. There is one little known initiative which aims to encourage companies to create greater awareness of disability within their business. The Disability Awareness Support Scheme (DASS) is a grant scheme funded under the government’s Reasonable Accommodation Fund. Companies who provide disability awareness training for their staff are eligible to apply for grant aid which can cover up to 90% of the cost of training. This grant applies to both in house and web-based training.
Ability Focus is a disability awareness consultancy which delivers contemporary disability awareness training programmes as our primary service offering. We passionately believe that in order to ensure increased uptake of disability awareness training as well as an effective programme delivery, training should have a confident, positive and proactive approach. When delivering training we focus heavily on a number of core areas:
* Disability statistics
* Diversity within disability
* Legislation & reasonable accommodation
* Respectful communication etiquette
* Removing barriers to inclusion
At Ability Focus we believe the primary barrier and main disabling factor in the lives of many learners, job seekers and workplace colleagues is the lack of awareness of disability within Irish organisations. Companywide awareness of disability is the key component in ensuring longevity of inclusive best practice for organisations in both the public and private sector.
With greater numbers of people now living with a disability, never before has disability awareness training been so relevant. The Learning & Development profession has the opportunity to highlight the importance of disability awareness training and to have it considered as part of company L&D agendas. Increasing companywide awareness of disability and reducing the disability knowledge gap will lead to greater understanding of Ireland’s most diverse group while also creating social and economic opportunities for people with disabilities. This in turn leads to greater opportunity for everyone, because we can all benefit from great levels of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
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 award-winning training programmes are CPD accredited, L&DI Endorsed and delivered by qualified trainers with over twenty years’ experience working in disability inclusion.