Kilkenny’s fire station was the setting for the launch of the Irish Association of Supported Employment (IASE ) National Supported Employment Week which took place this month along with the Job Shadow initiative 2011.
Supported Employment organisations, job seekers and employers rose awareness of employment for people with disabilities through a variety of events including Job Shadow Day on April 20.
Minister Phil Hogan attended the event and said, “I am delighted to launch the IASE National Supported Employment Week promoting employment for people with disabilities which includes the Job Shadow Initiative”,
The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government added, “Job Shadow is a very real opportunity for job seekers with disabilities to showcase their abilities to employers while sampling the world of work. It also gives employers an opportunity to see the challenges faced by these job seekers both in the workplace and in everyday life.”
Teresa Mallon IASE chairperson also commented that the success of this initiative over the past three years is a credit to all involved – job seekers, job coaches and employers – that the IASE National Job Shadow Day has proved such a success over the past three years.
This IASE Initiative aims to promote the principles of equality and inclusion in recruitment policy and practice. It also helps to break down barriers and to address fears which employers may have in facilitating the inclusion of people with disabilities into the work force
At the launch in Kilkenny's Fire Station, Pamela Mansell, IASE director and coordinator of Access Supported Employment in Kilkenny said that she was delighted that the Minister was giving such support to Job Shadow.
