• Skip to navigation
  • Skip to content
Ulster University logo Return to Ulster University homepage
  • Global students – Resources for Ulster University International Students
  • Staff Links – Resources for Ulster University staff
  • Student Guide - The Student Guide to Ulster
  • Portal - for Ulster University
  • Find staff & Departments – search and browse Ulster’s staff directory
  • News – for Ulster University
  • Events – for Ulster University
  • Home - Ulster University website homepage
  • Study at Ulster University

    Study options

    • Study in Northern Ireland
    • Undergraduate study options
    • Postgraduate study options
    • Postgraduate Research/ PhD
    • Short courses and CPD
    • Part-time Undergraduate study options
    • Part-time study options
    • eLearning study at Ulster University

    Courses

    • Search for courses
    • A to Z 2023/24
    • A to Z 2022/23

    More information

    • Entrance requirements
    • Equivalence of qualifications
    • Your rights and obligations
    • International students
    • Further education students
    • Associate students
  • Campus Life at Ulster University

    Campus Life

    • Campuses
    • Accommodation - Residential Services
    • Sport Services
    • Students' Union UUSU
    • All Ulster University Events

    Support

    • Student Guide
    • Student Wellbeing
    • Digital Services
    • Library

    Careers and Opportunities

    • Employability and Careers
    • Go Global
    • Science Shop
    • Student Enterprise
  • Research & Impact

    Research & Impact

    • Our research
    • Collaboration and Innovation
    • Work with us
    • Our Research Topics
    • Our Research Teams

    PhD/Research degrees

    • Funded & Self Funded PhDs
    • Postgraduate Research Programmes
    • How to apply for PhD Research
    • Funding for Phd's
    • Contact the Doctoral College

    More information

    • PURE - research portal
    • REF 2021 (Research Excellence Framework)
    • Policies and Procedures
  • Business themed areas of Ulster University

    Work with Us

    • Recruit top talent
    • Business School student placements
    • Scholarships, sponsorships and corporate giving
    • Upskill courses by Sector

    Business Engagement

    • Build a course
    • Executive Education Courses
    • Apprenticeship Hub
    • Business leader Peer Mentoring
    • Postgraduate short courses

    Research Expertise

    • Work with us
    • Funding opportunities
    • Innovation Ulster Ltd
    • Case studies
    • Meet the team

    Further Information

    • Market information
    • Hire one of our venues
  • Graduates of Ulster University
  • Home - Go to homepage
  • Study Options at Ulster University
  • Find a course at Ulster University
  • Campus Life
  • Research & Impact at Ulster University
  • Business at Ulster University
  • Graduates - find out about Alumni and Supporters at Ulster University
  • Global Students – become part of our global community at Ulster University

  • Student Guide
  • Staff Links – Resources for Ulster University staff
  • Find staff & Departments – search and browse Ulster’s staff directory
  • Portal – customise and access your online services

  •   Twitter account for Ulster University
  •   Facebook account for Ulster University
  •   YouTube account for Ulster University
Ulster University
  • Search
  • Link for Ulster University
  • Link for News
  • Link for 2021
  • Link for December

Ulster University and Leonard Cheshire set to transform employment opportunities for graduates with disabilities

UUBS initiative has been launched to support employment opportunities for university graduates with disabilities.

3 December 2021
Share Article: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn

A pioneering new initiative by leading charity Leonard Cheshire in partnership with Ulster University Business School is set to transform employment opportunities for university graduates with disabilities in Northern Ireland.

The disability charity has launched their GradEmployNI programme, in partnership with the Ulster University Business School, which will match talented graduates with disabilities with employment opportunities in leading businesses across Northern Ireland.

Today marks the Global Day for People with Disabilities and latest figures show that just 38 per cent of people with disabilities in Northern Ireland are in positions of employment compared to the national figure of 80.3 per cent of those who do not have disabilities.

Those with disabilities in the 16-24 age group are the worst affected by the employment and skills gap, meaning talented and skilled graduates often don’t get a fair chance of shining in the workplace.

From today business are being invited to apply to Leonard Cheshire to become placement hosts and avail of the opportunity to become more disability confident and access a pool of talented high-calibre candidates that they may not reach through the traditional selection recruitment processes.

Successful candidates who make it through the interview process will be delivered to business partner hosts following a four-week skills and training bootcamp hosted by the Ulster University Business School.

Placement hosts who sign up to the programme will be paid their employee’s Living Wage throughout the 14-week work placement of the successful candidate.

Professor Mark Durkin, Executive Dean of Ulster University Business School commented:

“Graduate employability is at the forefront of everything we do within the Ulster University Business School and given today’s increasingly dynamic labour market, it’s so important that we continue to offer new learning opportunities and experiences that equip our graduates with the expertise and confidence to succeed in the world of work. This pioneering new initiative will provide recent graduates with disabilities a route into industry and employment through skills support and paid placements with leading employers, helping learners maximise their potential and move forward in their career journey. We are very pleased to be working with Leonard Cheshire to deliver this employability support programme and look forward to seeing the added value that learners and employers will gain.”

Leonard Cheshire Ireland Director Fiona McCabe explained:

“GradEmployNI is levelling the playing field for talented graduates with disabilities in Northern Ireland by matching their skills, qualifications and career goals with our GradEmployNI placement host business partners. There is a wealth of untapped talent amongst graduates with disabilities who are all too often overlooked in the recruitment process. The employment rate for people with disabilities in Northern Ireland is just 38 per cent with those in the age group of 16-24 worst affected by the employment and skills gap. We want to change this and are inviting businesses to sign up to become a placement host and improve their inclusiveness and create career opportunities for qualified and highly skilled individuals at no cost to their business. Leonard Cheshire will support our partners with bespoke training on disability and help businesses become more inclusive for people with disabilities.”

Ulster University final year BSc Marketing student, Ellen Watson, added:

“The GradEmploy NI programme is an incredible opportunity for graduate students, who have a disability, seeking to gain invaluable experience working with Northern Ireland organisations. The programme provides free bespoke training which will help students transition into the working world with the opportunity to secure paid employment. This opportunity is one not to be missed.”

Businesses who are interested in becoming a placement host partner are invited to contact Leonard Cheshire via email.

Graduates can apply for the programme via the website.


Related news

  1. Fri 01 Jul 2022

    Celebrate the Launch of ‘The Songs of Sam Henry’ Album by local musician and PhD Researcher

  2. Fri 01 Jul 2022

    Careers Teachers’ Summit 2022 welcomes 100 delegates to the Magee campus

  3. Thu 30 Jun 2022

    Ulster University supports Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference for UK Business Educators

  4. Thu 30 Jun 2022

    The 120 miles a day uni roundtrip that led to a dream research job in the USA

Elsewhere on Ulster

Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment

Faculty of Life and Health Sciences

Ulster University Business School- Faculty

Courses & Research

  • Search for courses
  • Undergraduate courses at Ulster University
  • Postgraduate courses at Ulster University
  • Part-time courses at Ulster University
  • Short courses & CPD at Ulster University
  • Study online at Ulster University
  • Research & Impact
  • Doctoral College
  • PURE Research Portal

Campus locations

  • Belfast campus
  • Coleraine campus
  • Jordanstown campus
  • Magee campus
  • London and Birmingham
  • Qatar

Campus facilities

  • Residential Services / Accommodation
  • Sports Services - Memberships and Facilities
  • Library Services and resources supporting learning, teaching and research at the University

About The University

  • About Ulster University
  • Contact Details
  • Job opportunities
  • Key calendar dates
  • Faculties at Ulster University
  • News - Ulster University
  • Events - Ulster University

Other sites

  • Alumni & Supporters
  • Confucius Institute
  • Get advice from Employability and Careers
  • Finance Department
  • Flexible Education
  • Digital Services - computing, digital and media services
  • People & Culture
  • Student Wellbeing
  • Sustainability

Ulster University social

@StudyAtUlster Follow us on Twitter @UlsterUni Follow us on Twitter
/studyatulster /ulsteruniversity
/StudyAtUlster /UlsterUniversity
/ulsteruni
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statements
  • Copyright
  • Freedom of Information
  • Modern Slavery Statement

© Copyright Ulster University 2022.

Ulster University is registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (NIC100166).