A disability charity is calling for more local businesses to sign up to its job fair, meet disabled jobseekers and discover new talent.
The national disability charity Sense has announced that its next Pan Disability Job Fair, where employers with live vacancies can meet disabled jobhunters and career switchers, will be held in Selly Oak in Birmingham on Friday 16 May.
An impressive list of organisations are already lined up to take part, including West Brom Building Society, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), hospitality and food services group Compass, and West Midlands Combined Authority.
Alongside hosting a stall, National Lottery operator Allwyn will deliver a special workshop on interview preparation and mock interviews, while recruiter JAR Solutions will hold a session on CV writing.
The aim of the job fair is to help disabled jobseekers overcome the barriers to work that cause a shocking 29 percentage point employment gap between disabled people and the overall population*.
The event, which is free for both recruiters and jobseekers and has been held annually since 2022, also enables employers to build more diverse and inclusive workforces. Previous job fairs have led to many attendees landing interviews, paid employment and work placements.
This year’s Pan Disability Job Fair, taking place between 10am and 3pm on 16 May at Sense TouchBase Pears in Selly Oak, will be fully accessible. BSL interpreters, scribes and sight guides will be available, there will be free parking at the venue and the last, ‘quiet’ hour will offer minimal noise and dimmed lights.
Registrations for employers are open. To find out more please visit sense.org.uk/birmingham-employers.
Jobseekers are strongly advised to book in advance too at sense.org.uk/birmingham-jobseekers.
Robyn Dawes, Employment Coach at Sense, said: “Disabled people face huge additional barriers when they are job hunting – many struggle because there’s no specialist technology in job centres to help them look for work or they don’t get adequate advice elsewhere – but we’re here to offer individualised support.
“Our Pan Disability Job Fair in Birmingham has become an annual event and we are proud that previous fairs have helped attendees secure interviews, paid work and work placements. Employers who want a diverse and inclusive workforce have so much to gain by coming along this year and meeting disabled jobseekers.
“We are also calling on jobhunters to attend this free event and show recruiters the amazing potential disabled people have. Taking part could be life-changing!”
