The meeting will be hosted by Emily Jackson, Senior Business Partner of BDF, with the following guests:

Marie Clarkson – Employment Manager (Visibly Better Employer) at RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). RNIB is the UK’s leading sight loss charity and wants to change our world so there are no barriers to people with sight loss. They raise awareness of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people and campaign for change to make our society more accessible for all. Marie will be speaking about RNIB’s Visibly Better Employer Quality Standard and how it can help employers to attract, recruit and retain employees who are blind and partially sighted.

Laura Davis – CEO of BASE (British Association for Supported Employment). Employers may be aware of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Universal Support programme, which has the Supported Employment Model at the heart of delivery. Laura Davis will provide an overview of the Supported Employment model and why this should feel different to other DWP programmes employers have engaged with. She will discuss how building partnerships within the sector can support business to move from Disability Confident to Disability Confident in Action. Exploring all the different employment pathways, and the key role that qualified job coaches are playing to not only support Inclusive recruitment but also workforce retention as part of wider workforce planning. This session will provide an overview for any organisation that wants to ensure their Inclusive Recruitment pathways are inclusive to all disabled and neurodivergent people, and will give examples of where businesses are already embedding this approach into their strategies.

Anna Königseder – Director of Business Partnerships and Operations at Zero Project. Anna will be talking about the Zero Project – a global and research-driven initiative to support the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Each year, the Zero Project holds an Awards Ceremony which recognises outstanding solutions that remove barriers for persons with disabilities, based on their innovation, impact, and scalability. Anna will be discussing the Zero Project’s 2025 Awards Ceremony, focused on employment and ICT, which will open for nominations on 8 May 2024.

This event will operate using the ‘Chatham House’ rule.

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