The WAM programme at AHEAD are running a free training webinar aimed at current WAM employers and potential WAM employers.
When: Tuesday, September 13th 2022 from 11.30am - 1.00pm.
What: Unlocking Accessible Communications
More About WAM: The WAM programme is the transition to employment initiative of AHEAD. It offers graduates with disabilities the benefit of a 6-month minimum fully paid and mentored work internships with high profile employers. WAM was established in 2005 and, to date, have placed over 550 graduates with both private and public sector employers.
Event Information
According to the 2016 Irish census, 1 in 7 people have at least one disability in Ireland. However, people with disabilities are 1/2 as likely as their peers to be in employment (Government of Ireland, 2015). The European Commission Country Report for Ireland 2019 found that Ireland has one of the lowest employment rates for people with disabilities and has one of the highest gaps between people with and without disabilities in employment.
So what can we do to improve Ireland’s low employment rate for people with disabilities while also tapping into a pool of talented graduates with disabilities? Come along to our next WAMinar to ensure that your recruitment campaigns and communications materials aren't inadvertently locking potential applicants out from applying to your organisation!
The webinar will commence with a presentation from Jessica Dunne, Communications & Events Officer at AHEAD . The presentation will focus on the importance of making all communications from your business accessible to audiences with disabilities. We will then hear from Laocín Brennan with a practical overview on ensuring that emails, word documents and PDFs are accessible. Finally, Jessica will take us through accessibility features on social media channels and web accessibility.
The webinar will close with a questions and answers session for attendees.
About our speakers
Jessica Dunne - Communications & Events Officer, AHEAD
Jess (she/her) is the Communications & Events Officer in AHEAD. Her role involves overseeing and delivering the communications function of AHEAD across all teams and managing online, hybrid and in-person events that are fully accessible.
Jess has extensive experience in event management, having managed events from 300 – 6,000 people in a number of European cities before joining Croke Park’s events team where she had a portfolio of clients both domestic and international. In her time at the stadium, Jess was responsible for multiple events week-on-week from concept to completion.
Laocín Brennan - Team Support Officer, AHEAD
Laocín Brennan is AHEAD's Team Support Officer. His time in AHEAD began in June 2021 as GETAHEAD's first intern. Since joining the organisation Laocín has been involved in many projects with AHEAD. He takes particularly great pride in his work on events (Building the Future, Better Options and, now, Power of Disability), content creating (Allyship and GetAHEAD blogs) and public speaking (Language & Disability WAMinar, training events and, soon, Power of Disability)
Laocín's passion for advocacy dates back farther than his involvement with AHEAD. He was the founder of DCU’s Neurodivergent Society, the first of its kind in Europe. During his time in DCU, he found that his vocation was not in engineering and found himself gravitating towards his volunteer work, which continues to give him purpose, pride and joy.
He is passionate about human rights and believes intersectionality is the only way towards a just, equal and idyllic society. Laocín valued his morals from a young age, but only began to become cognisant of ableism in 2013, upon receiving the first of many diagnosises. Now, Laocín is pursuing a career in disability advocacy with vigour in the hopes of being the change he wants to see in the world.
