Charity helping graduates with disabilities, like Sarah, find employment

AT just 23 years old and thriving with ambition after achieving her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and English, Sarah Fox has every reason to be gunning for glory as she sets out on her career path.

The Queen’s University graduate is energetic, upbeat and fully qualified to pursue her dream careers in teaching and counselling.

To all intents and purposes, the Newry native is every employer’s dream. Yet, according to latest statistics, Sarah has a 60 per cent less chance of finding work in Northern Ireland than other qualified graduates of her age who do not have a disability.

Sarah has a hidden disability which, despite her determination to thrive in her career, puts her amongst the lowest employment percentage group.

The young woman’s world was turned upside down when, at 15, she developed Crohn’s during her GCSE year and was sent spiralling into a tumultuous health decline.

“I became very ill very quickly and it was a complete shock,” she said.

“The pain was horrific, the fatigue absolutely exasperating to the point I couldn’t get out of bed for the whole day. And the worst thing was that, because with Crohn’s people don’t actually see on the ‘outside’ that you’re sick, it’s so hard to explain what you are going through when people can’t actually see the disability.

“At the time of diagnosis, I was so shocked that I felt like my life had changed forever. I didn’t want to go to university because I thought my illness would stop me ever being able to get through it.”

Sarah is one of the first highly talented graduates with a disability to avail of a life-changing opportunity to kick start her career as part of a pioneering disability employment programme, GradEmployNI.

The initiative has been launched by leading charity Leonard Cheshire in an effort to level the playing field for qualified graduates with disabilities by placing them in paid employment with leading businesses.

Sarah is among the 10,000 people in Northern Ireland who battle with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, a life-long chronic condition that can affect people of all ages and can greatly impact education, work, social and family life.

After coming to terms with the condition Sarah showed inspirational resilience and vowed to continue relentlessly pursuing her dreams of making it to university despite the formidable health challenges she was facing.

“A really bad day would be chronic fatigue and pain and discomfort walking around with a bag and feeling totally in low spirits,” she added. “There are even worse days when you would be confined to your bedroom and in a state of absolute exhaustion and pain.

“The biggest challenges in university were managing the fatigue and travelling and still finding the energy to study and be ready for exams. I battled with anxiety during that first year because the workload was so intense that I would be knocked completely out of synch when I endured a period of sickness.”

Against the odds, Sarah attained her bachelor’s degree last year. But like many graduates with disabilities, she faced the considerable challenge of finding employment in her chosen career field.

“I was really concerned when I graduated and, despite graduating I was thinking what can I do with my life?’ How can I apply and get a job in a real work setting and balance that with my health problems? Who would understand and give me the chance to show that I can be an asset to their workplace? I was as qualified and ambitious as anyone else who would be applying for jobs. Yet I knew there was far less chance of me getting hired.”

That’s where Leonard Cheshire NI came in. Their pioneering GradEmployNI programme has teamed up with leading businesses in Northern Ireland as placement hosts to offer graduates with disabilities paid work placements and the chance to kick star their career.”

“I heard that Leonard Cheshire had launched their GradEmployNI programme, and a lightbulb came on in my head. I was like ‘this is perfect’. The GradEmployNI representative was so understanding and compassionate. I knew straight away they were really on the ball and were in my corner and wanted to help to launch my career.

“I then got the call saying I had been offered a paid work placement with Bolster Community and I was overjoyed, it was a massive sense of relief. I’m working with families and an array of people from different backgrounds, getting trained in the Resilience Workshop, engaging in creative ways which are giving me vital experience that is interchangeable with teaching. I love helping people and this is a dream fit for me.

“The team at Bolster have been so encouraging and they understand my condition but also know that it does not limit my ability to carry out my work. I finally feel like there is light and opportunity after all of the struggles that I have faced. Thanks to GradEmployNI I’m ready to launch my career and realise my potential.”

*IF YOU HAVE ARE A GRAUDATE WITH A DISABILITY, OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO COULD AVAIL OF THE GradEmployNI opportunity, visit Leonardcheshire.org/grademployni to sign up or find our more.

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