Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL) hosted a special event to raise awareness around the issue of ability in disability. Members of the local business community, education bodies and service providers came together to explore the subject and hear from the inspirational business inclusion campaigner Caroline Casey.
Dan Dark, SVP and Managing Director, WBSL, commented: “There are so many people who have special skills to offer and are finding it challenging to access the workplace. We hope today’s event will help open doors and increase diversity in recruitment throughout the local community.”
Caroline Casey, activist, entrepreneur and founder of #valuable, said: “There are a billion people in the world that experience disability. If businesses could see the value of those people as consumers, as suppliers and as talent in the community I think we could go a very long way to eradicating exclusion.”
The group also heard from Linda McIntyre, Chief Executive of Watford Workshop, a charity that offers disabled people work experience, skills training and employment. She said: “Our workforce at Watford Workshop offers a great level of skilled service which is sometimes hard to match by mainstream employees.”
Chris Luff, founder of the Chamber of Conscience, a movement to mobilise community engagement, encouraged representatives from over 50 local businesses who attended the event to pledge their support for inclusion in the workplace through various routes including recruitment, mentoring and work experience opportunities.
