Through its Employability and Skills Plan the Welsh Government has committed to working with partners to increase the number of disabled people in work. A number of barriers are currently preventing disabled people from entering, staying in and progressing in work, from inflexible working practices to lack of awareness or understanding of accessible working practices by employers. Disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed when compared to non-disabled people and this needs to change to support growth within the Welsh economy.
This Disabled People’s Employment Champion will join a wider network of partners, who, through their roles, will advocate for the employment of disabled people, promoting the Social Model of Disability. Dedicated support for SMEs will be available via the Business Wales service and the post-holder(s) will need to work hand-in-hand with the service to ensure the businesses they engage with are aware of the support available.
The post-holder will work actively with employers across Wales to increase awareness of the availability of talent and skills provided by disabled people, to help adapt their recruitment practices for their workforce, and to show them how to effectively access the support which is available to help disabled people into work. They will provide independent, balanced advice, offering expertise, helping employers attract disabled applicants, remove barriers in the workplace and enable disabled employees to realise their potential and use their talents to deliver business benefits.
The post-holder will also support Welsh Government to become an exemplar in terms of recruitment practices for Disabled People and be called upon to use their lived experience to enrich Welsh Government policy and programme developments particularly in relation to Employability and Skills.
The post-holder will require an understanding of the barriers disabled people face applying for and during employment, together with knowledge and experience of equality legislation.
The post-holder will be required to meet with partners and employers and some travel may be required.