The EmployAbility service is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The EmployAbility service is a nationwide initiative that was designed to help people who have additional support needs (an injury, an illness, or mental health difficulty) to find a way to enter the workforce and earn a living independently. The EmployAbility Service is funded by the Department of Social Protection to carry out this role in supporting People with Disabilities to enter the workforce.
For two decades, jobseekers who have a disability but still wanted to undertake paid work in a professional setting have been welcome to avail of the EmployAbility service. Referrals are made via local Intreo office or Local Employment Service.
EmployAbility job coaches are trained to help people in a number of ways: they are up-to-date with modern interview techniques, current trends in CV production and cover letter preparation, targeting potential employers, and assisting with administering the paperwork behind the Wage Subsidy Scheme.
The past year brought a whole new wave of previously unimagined difficulties for people in every sector of Irish society. Now, however, as restrictions are being lifted in all sectors, a new wave of optimism is sweeping the country and people are once more looking forward to a new future and making exciting new plans for life.
Yvonne Browne is the co-ordinator of EmployAbility Dublin North. She is delighted to be back in the office, and seeing both new and old clients taking advantage of the service again. As Yvonne says: “The past year has been difficult for people in many different ways. It is important that those who require extra support in undertaking their search for employment are aware that there is a service here to help and assist them and to negotiate for them in dealing with new ways of working.”
Yvonne is right to highlight that there are new ways of working. We may be coming back to ‘normal’ again, slowly, but it is a new ‘normal’. Many of us will need help in navigating a way through this new wave of employment and social practices.
“EmployAbility provides essential support to individuals who need extra help in getting back on the road to employment. The teams of Job Coaches working in EmployAbility offices across Ireland have many years of experience liaising with employers and assisting employers to recruit people with disabilities into their workforce.”
“In this, our 20th Anniversary year, we are both celebrating our past achievements and laying the foundations for our future organisational operations. In the coming weeks we will be organising a series of events aimed at attracting new users for this service and thanking those that have worked with us as members of the organisation.
“EmployAbility offices all over Ireland are developing forging new links with employers in all sectors of industry. We’re looking forward to the next twenty years with enormous optimism,” says Yvonne.