It’s 4 years since Recite Me joined the government's Disability Confident Employer Scheme. In this time we have grown exponentially, so we thought it was the perfect time to do a recap on being a Disability Confident Committed Employer.
What is the Disability Confident Employer Scheme?
The Disability Confident Employer Scheme, which launched in November 2016, is a nationally recognised accreditation scheme designed to get more disabled people into work. It is voluntary and has been developed with employers, disability charities and disabled people.
The scheme was created to help employers draw from the widest possible pool of talent. Almost 40% of disabled applicants feel insecure about getting hired as they believe employers will disregard their application based on their impairment or condition. With more than 14 million disabled people in the UK organisations are potentially closing themselves off to a huge number of candidates.
Recite Me - A Disability Confident Committed Employer
Recite Me is an inclusive organisation with diverse staff at its core. It is extremely important to us that we demonstrate our commitment to equality for people with different needs in the workplace, hence why we joined the Disability Confident Employer Scheme.
Ross, our Founder and CEO, knows first hand some of the challenges people can face. He said, “I have dyslexia so I understand some of the barriers that exist for people with differing abilities in the workplace. I created Recite Me to help people with disabilities and other challenges that restrict their freedom of access to websites and digital content in the office, classroom and at home”.
Back in 2017, when we joined the scheme we committed to a set of disability-related actions that make a positive difference to disabled people. At this time around 5,000 organisations had signed up and now, almost 4 years later, there are over 20,000 employers committed to the scheme. It is amazing to see so many organisations playing a leading role in changing attitudes for the better.