The Open Doors Initiative was launched at the end of September last year with 14 founding companies. Cpl was delighted to be one of these founding members.
The Open Doors group is committed to working together to increase access to the labour market for marginalised groups by providing high-quality work experience placements, employability training, or other structured supports, to give individuals the experience, skills and confidence to find a job.
After 6 months, the Initiative now has 23 member companies and 14 supporting partners.
Together they are now operating 74 programmes and more will come. It's now predicted at least 1000 people will be supported in year one.
Our own colleague Mei Lin Yap, who spoke at the September launch along with the Taoiseach on what it means to her to have a permanent role in Cpl, now features on the Open Doors brochure cover and has spoken at several events since in Dublin and further afield since, a proud achievement.
Opening Doors at Cpl
In the past 6 months, Cpl has committed to our Open Doors pledge in many ways. Below are some of the actions currently in place:
TCPID involvement
Cpl has a strong partnership with the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID). Our consultants, directors and manages offer mentoring, CV and interview preparation, mock interviews and an introduction to the world of work. We have recruited one permanent employee from TCPID and we have one student currently on a 3-month intern programme.
JAI volunteering
A selection of our employees works with non-profit Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI) to educate and mentor children in disadvantaged schools, inspiring them to continue to Leaving Cert and beyond.
Cpl is continued supporters of JAI and this is our 4 year of participating in the programme. We have worked across 21 schools impacting over 1,000 children.
EPIC employment programme
The EPIC employment programme works with immigrants and refugees to help them integrate into Irish society. Cpl have been supporting their valuable work since 2008 through conducting mock interviews and providing constructive feedback to interviewees.
The participants come to our offices and avail of our interview rooms thus encouraging a 'real life' interview experience. In the last 12 months, Cpl has supported a total of 165 interviews.
Jobnet support
Jobnet runs 5 programmes a year to support individuals who are struggling to enter or re-enter the workforce. Cpl supports this award-winning initiative by providing mock interviews, career advice and actionable guidance around networking.
An inclusive TY programme
We are also committed to running an inclusive Transition Year Programme. The annual programme offers places to TY students from schools across Dublin, including a number of deis schools. For our 2019 programme, we were happy to have 4 students from deis schools and 1 student from the JEP programme involved. The purpose of the transition year programme is:
- To give an insight into various potential career paths
- Receive training around CV creation and Interview preparation
- Increase their awareness of self and others through various activities and personality tests
Sharing advice internally and externally
In order to actively participate in sharing and learning across the Open Doors network, and further, we have published a number of articles on the topic of diversity and inclusion. These articles included'hiring someone with a disability: the dos and don'ts'and 'working with dyslexia' - both written by Cpl employees who have their own disabilities or learning difficulties.
Get involved in the Open Doors Initiative
A lot has been done, with a lot more to do. If you or your company are interested in learning more about the Open Doors Initiative get in touch directly or contact our Diversity & Inclusion lead Siobhan O'Shea for more details on developing an inclusive workplace.