Careers advice for students and graduates with a disability, are neurodiverse or have a long term health condition.

The LJMU Student Futures: Careers, Employability and Enterprise team hosted the three-hour event, which included stories from inspiration speakers, career opportunities, advice on disability rights in the workplace plus a Q&A with the panel. 

The event was open to all students, graduates and the public who have an interest in disability and inclusivity, as well as those with a disability themselves, are neurodiverse, for example have dyslexia or ADHD, or have a long-term health condition, including mental health. 

Keren Coney, LJMU Student Futures Careers and Employability Consultant and co- ordinator of the event said  

"It was so inspiring to hear from the speakers and their own personal journeys of disability, whether it be physical disability, neurodiverse, a long-term health condition or their mental health. Several speakers talked about their insights into neurodiversity, which was helpful, as the term can often be misunderstood. It was also really interesting to learn more about the approaches that some employers are taking to promote accessibility in their recruitment processes and workplaces, in addition to hearing about disability rights in employment.” 

The panel included: 

• Jack Fitzpatrick and Gillian Burgess. Jack is a 3rd year LJMU student and has autism and Gillian has a long-term health condition. They recently started their business ‘Inclusive Environments’ to offer advice and support to businesses who want to make their workplaces more inclusive. 

• Phil Bridges, LJMU alumni and founder of The Mind Map. His business is the first online one stop shop for mental health provision. Phil spoke about his own mental health and how 15 years ago he would never have spoken in a meeting never mind at a big careers event such as this one. 

• Matt Smith from Weightmans who then spoke about Disability rights in the workplace and disability as a protected characteristic.  

• Helen Cooke, My Plus, who is a wheelchair user herself and whose consultancy business helps disabled individuals realise their career ambitions, plus employers to benefit from the talent disabled individuals have. She also gave attendees some tips to get them started on their career path including: 

- Start as you mean to go on with your expectations 

- Identify your strengths 

- Remember that it is ok to ask for help 

• Tori Roberts, from Ernest Young then spoke to attendees about the recently launched first Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence in the UK, with the aim to hire 150 neurodivergent individuals. The scheme also invites interviewees to attend a 'super week' where they work in the environment for four days as part of the interview process, meaning for example, those who can use complicated coding in their work but perhaps not make eye contact in an interview, still have a potential job offer. 

To find out more about the Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence visit their website.  

Or look for student and graduate job opportunities on their job vacancies.  

Keren Coney said: "We are so pleased that we were able to offer our students and graduates such a fantastic opportunity to attend the virtual careers event. I was delighted to see so many of those who attended engaging in the Q&A part of the event, this led to some fantastic discussions around opportunities for disabled graduates and strategies for success in the graduate labour market. 

For those who couldn't attend the event, you can catch up with the recording here.  

Access passcode: 9Cw#Txf% 

To find out more about how LJMU's Student Futures: Careers, Employability and Enterprise team can help you, visit our webpage: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/careers 

Remember, as a graduate of LJMU you also get lifelong access to our careers service too.