Hi everyone. I have signed up to the “Inspiring Young Disabled People” 2018 scheme and, for the next few months, I will be documenting my experiences in this blog. For those who aren’t aware, last year the Zurich Community Trust in partnership with Disability Inclusion Group (DIG) got involved in a work shadowing programme with the charity Volunteering Matters. This programme was set up across the UK with the aim of breaking down barriers to hiring disabled employees, while also improving the confidence and career aspirations of young disabled people. Young people were matched with mentors across six Zurich offices, who will help them to think about their career opportunities, build their confidence and aspirations, and open their eyes to the world of work.
The scheme was a resounding success, with 90% of mentees reporting and increase in confidence, 84% said they felt they had developed new skill, and 100% had enjoyed the projects. There were also huge benefits for the mentors, with 93% having a better understanding of the barriers young disabled people encounter. 92% also felt that the experience had helped reduce barriers around working with disabled people, and 100% felt #Proud to tell others they are part of Zurich! With these incredible metrics, The pressure is really on us 2018 mentees to try and have a similar impact – and from talking to some of them already I am positive it is one that they (and fingers crossed maybe myself) can rise up to!
For those who are going to be reading my ramblings over the next few months, I thought you may be interested to find out a little more about me (for those that aren’t, feel free to skip this paragraph). Disability has always been a topic very close to my heart. When I was a teenager, I took on a Saturday job working for Disability Challengers, a charity based in the South East that provides play centres and activities for young people aged 2-25. As I got older, I used the expertise I had gained to set up my own network of parents with special needs children in order to work as a babysitter. This could often be for parents who hadn’t had the chance to have an evening out in years, simply because there wasn’t anyone else with the skills and confidence to handle their sometimes more demanding children in a 1:1 setting. I then had a gap between graduating university and starting at Zurich where I spent a year working at a primary school as a Special Educational Needs Teaching Assistant. I worked 1:1 with some children on the autistic spectrum who needed a little bit of extra help with reading and writing in the classroom. So, when I started looking at graduate schemes, one of the big selling points of Zurich was how active it’s charity arm, Zurich Community Trust was, and since then I have loved the opportunity to get actively involved in these schemes away from my day job. This includes abseiling off the tallest structure in the UK and fundraising for my team’s summer challenges.
I joined Zurich on the graduate scheme back in the summer of 2016 (how the time has flown!), and I became actively involved in DIG as its working lead at the start of this year. The opportunity to combine three of my four biggest passions: Zurich, Disability, and volunteering (haven’t found a way to weave Portsmouth FC into this yet but watch this space!) felt like something too good to be true. Yet, I have loved every minute of it so far this year despite the extra work and time commitments. I have relished the opportunity to get involved in various Zurich schemes, helping to sustain our recognition as the first Disability Confident Insurer. The chance to get involved in a programme like the mentoring one, which acts more at the “ground level” of the issue, is a really exciting one. Though it is a little nerve-wracking to be in a position of such responsibility for an individual who is potentially more vulnerable.
I have my first meet-up with my mentee next week, so I will be talking about that some more in my next blog. I have never been a mentor before, nor have I ever blogged my experiences (let alone through a platform that will be read by others), so this will be somewhat of a novel experience for myself as well!
If you have any questions or feedback about this blog or the scheme, please get touch with me on email or Yammer, or just say hi if you see me about! I promise I don’t bite (even if it might look that way before the morning coffee has hit the system).
Pete
#LoveVolunteering #MentoringMatters #LoveZCT #LifeAtZurich
Hi everyone. I have signed up to the “Inspiring Young Disabled People” 2018 scheme and, for the next few months, I will be documenting my experiences in this blog. For those who aren’t aware, last year the Zurich Community Trust in partnership with Disability Inclusion Group (DIG) got involved in a work shadowing programme with the charity Volunteering Matters. This programme was set up across the UK with the aim of breaking down barriers to hiring disabled employees, while also improving the confidence and career aspirations of young disabled people. Young people were matched with mentors across six Zurich offices, who will help them to think about their career opportunities, build their confidence and aspirations, and open their eyes to the world of work.
The scheme was a resounding success, with 90% of mentees reporting and increase in confidence, 84% said they felt they had developed new skill, and 100% had enjoyed the projects. There were also huge benefits for the mentors, with 93% having a better understanding of the barriers young disabled people encounter. 92% also felt that the experience had helped reduce barriers around working with disabled people, and 100% felt #Proud to tell others they are part of Zurich! With these incredible metrics, The pressure is really on us 2018 mentees to try and have a similar impact – and from talking to some of them already I am positive it is one that they (and fingers crossed maybe myself) can rise up to!
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