The Blind in Business charity and SHL, the world leader in objective assessment, are hosting a two-day event at SHL’s Management Centre in Long Ditton, Surrey, on 19th and 20th August.
The objective is to assist blind and partially-sighted graduates into employment by developing job-seeking strategies and enhancing their self-confidence. They will also meet twenty human resources professionals from organisations including P&G, The Civil Service, BDO Stoy Hayward, LDA, Tate Office, BBC, Coutts, NHS, Deloitte & Touche, Accenture, TMP, Royal Mail, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Centrica, Citigroup, KPMG, HSBC and Unilever.
The delegates will receive advice and hands-on practice for all stages of the recruitment process including: making a successful application, preparing for an interview, and taking psychometric tests. They will also attend an interview with one of the HR professionals attending the course. A key issue that will be addressed is how to inform prospective employers of their visual impairments.
There will also be an exhibition of the latest technology to assist blind and partially people sighted in the workplace.
After the hard work, and as a confidence building activity, graduates will be able to unwind by water skiing on the nearby Heron Lake at Wraysbury.
These sessions are tremendously important both for our blind and partially sighted candidates and for the HR professionals involved in recruitment, said Clare Melville, employment manager at Blind in Business. Whilst there are still many misunderstandings and barriers to the employment of visually impaired people, we are striving to overcome these while building the confidence of graduates and employers.
Kevin Kerrigan, managing director of SHL (UK) Ltd, commented; SHL is firmly committed to fairness and openness in recruitment practice. All of our tests are rigorously tested to minimise discrimination to any groups. In addition, we have a range of tests available in formats for visually impaired candidates and events like these are very useful as we continue to develop these products.
Unique event helps visually impaired graduates win in the recruitment process
Help is on hand later this month for 20 visually impaired graduates who want to pursue professional careers.