Blind graduates prepared for employment success by Blind in Business

Nineteen visually impaired graduates enhanced their job seeking skills by participating in assessment centre tests, mock interviews and employment workshops, at the fourth annual Blind in Business graduate conference, held at SHL Woodstock House in Surrey on the 18th and 19th of August.



As well as hands on practice sessions and seminars, all the participants of the two-day event had the opportunity to water-ski as a fun and confidence-building activity. Jonathon Blagrove, a History graduate, commented: The water-skiing was great! It made me overcome a lot of fears; after that I feel ready for anything! If I can do this, I know I can get a job

Nineteen recruiters from Herbert Smith, Citigroup, DSTL, BDO Stoy Hayward, Morgan Stanley, CMS Cameron McKenna, CSSB, Lehman Brothers, Allen and Overy, TMP Worldwide, Accenture, Logica CMG, GCHQ, KPMG, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank also attended the event to learn more about employing individuals with visual impairments, and to engage in practice interviews with the graduates.

Kerry Jarrad, Graduate Recruitment Manager at Herbert Smith said: íMeeting the candidates was a real inspiration both on a personal and professional level.í Justine Beedle, from BDO Stoy Hayward, added: íThe event was very helpful. I will feel far more confident in recruiting candidates with a visual impairment in the future.í

The candidates also attended a formal dinner with the Blind in Business board and alumni, where they could share their employment experiences with each other. Tasneem Arshad, a graduate in Psychology, stated: It was inspiring to meet so many successful and confident blind and visually impaired people.

As part of the recruitment experience, the graduates practiced psychometric assessments, provided by SHL. James Ridley, a graduate in Music Technology commented: íIt was really useful to practice assessment centre tests in a variety of formats. It made me realise that I can compete with other graduates on an equal level. I feel much more confident about the whole recruitment process.í

The event was completed with a specialist technology exhibition with representatives from top technology companies. Employers and potential employees were updated on the latest technologies that can assist visually impaired people in the workplace.

Genevieve Herga, Employment Coordinator at Blind in Business, concluded: íThis yearís conference was another hugely successful event and we hope to see all these graduates triumphant in their job-seeking - it has been remarkable to witness the event expanding and developing year on year and plans are already in place for an even bigger and better conference next year.í

Tony Walsh, Senior Consultant with SHL, said: We are delighted to host this event for the second time. As an organisation we are committed to helping both employers and job-seekers to overcome unfair discrimination. Recruitment decisions should be made on objective job-relevant criteria and just because a job-seeker has a disability that doesnít mean they canít be the best person for the job.

If you would like to speak to any of the candidates or employers, please contact:

Clare Young or Genevieve Herga Blind in Business
Tel: 020 7588 188