The Kickstart programme is built around diversity, inclusivity and belonging and has social mobility and future talent at its heart and depends on its volunteers.
Zurich also has a Workskill’ programme. This provides a six-month paid placement opportunity for those who are long-term unemployed, “many of whom have a disability”, Hamilton says.
“We now have so many more entry points like internships and apprenticeships.
"We also reach into our supply chain - we proactively work with Social Enterprises and diverse suppliers, and are corporate members of Social Enterprise UK and Minority Supplier Development UK.”
Mental health and neurodivergent support
There is an important link between neurodiversity and mental health. ‘Autistic and OK’ is a peer-to-peer mental health programme for autistic pupils in mainstream secondary schools developed by Ambitious About Autism in conjunction with the Z Zurich Foundation.
The project team aimed to amplify the voices of autistic young people and their views on mental health in schools, empowering them to make the changes they would like to see.
Neurodivergent individuals, such as those with conditions like ADHD, Autism, Asperges Syndrome and OCD, face a range of obstacles when seeking employment.
Autistica, the autism research and campaigning charity, has found that some of the main barriers include:
- Employer understanding: Many employers are not sufficiently prepared to hire and support neurodiverse employees. Generally this comes from a lack of understanding of neurodiversity and how to create an inclusive workplace.
- Hiring practices: Recruitment processes may include practices that can inadvertently discriminate against neurodiverse applicants, this includes: a reliance on face to face interviews or not providing interview questions ahead of time.
- Unclear job descriptions: Job descriptions can be vague and not tailored to neurodiverse individuals, focusing on unspecific skills rather than the skillset required for the job.
- Inadequate career support: Stemming from a lack of understanding, support within the role are often not equipped to provide specialised guidance that neurodiverse individuals may require.
- Challenging work environments: Once employed, neurodiverse individuals may find it difficult to cope with inaccessible sensory and social aspects of the workplace.
- Variable access to adjustments: Even when neurodiverse employees identify and advocate for necessary adjustments, they may face difficulties in having these implemented effectively, if at all.
- Inflexible working cultures: Neurodivergent people thrive in flexible working environments. Offering flexibility benefits both neurodivergent and neurotypical staff as it empowers staff to take ownership of their work and creates a culture of trust, creating loyal staff.
Crucially, Autistica has found that autistic people face the lowest employment rate of all disabled groups. These obstacles contribute to the lower employment rates and job retention difficulties experienced by neurodiverse individuals. Addressing these barriers is crucial to improving employment opportunities and workplace inclusivity for neurodiverse people.
James Cusack, chief executive says Autistica “has the goal of doubling the employment rate for autistic people by 2030".
He continues: “This is being done by running a range of strategic projects including research, resources for autistic jobseekers, tools to upskill employers, and collaborations with government and corporate partnerships.
“Employers must think about every stage of recruiting and retaining autistic staff to create a diverse workforce."
As part of the 2030 roadmap, Autistica have committed to supporting employers through:
- Helping employers recruit talented autistic candidates and broaden the diversity of their workforce.
- Creating supported employment programmes that aim to get autistic people into work.
- Specifying workplace adjustments based on our research that will help companies make small changes to their working culture and environment that make a big difference to autistic employees.
In February, Autistica launched the Neurodiversity Employers Index. This is a comprehensive measure for neurodiversity inclusion, mirroring existing indices for gender and ethnicity.
The index can help financial services companies by providing a roadmap for enhancing employment practices for neurodivergent individuals. Developed with input from neurodivergent people and employers, it will be available online for UK organisations.
Mind the minority gap
Rebecca Ajulu-Bushell is a former Great Britain swimming champion, an author, and the chief executive of 10,000 Black Interns.
This is an organisation she set up to mobilise people from often underrepresented African and Caribbean backgrounds to join, support each other, and progress in the workplace.
She says: “Given the racial wealth gap social mobility is a Black issue and a huge number of our interns have transformed their futures through our programme and the access to opportunity our internships have provided, helping to level the playing field when they went on to apply for full-time employment opportunities.
