According to this excellent article on the RTE website, from the CEO of WALK Catherine Kelly, “the latest figures from ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey highlights that 81% of Irish employers are currently struggling to recruit employees.”. Conversely “the latest figures from Census suggest 36% of disabled people of working age are actually employed in Ireland and as Catherine says “studies show that people with disabilities tend to seek stable and reliable work when job seeking, and therefore are more likely to have higher rates of job retention.
The food sector in Ireland is one that has been identified as one that can benefit greatly from employing people with disabilities, as it has low barriers to entry. However, it can be daunting for people with disabilities or their families or job coaches to know what are the best companies to apply to for available positions.
Here is a list of organisations that employ people with disabilities and/or can provide the best training or advice in this area:
The Cope Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Cork that supports 2800 children and adults with an intellectual disability and/or autism to live a life of their choosing.
Roots Coffee House is run by Cope Foundation’s Training Centres and
Community Hubs. The aim is to provide people supported by the organisation skills and confidence to gain employment in the hospitality sector. There are two coffee shops, the first shop opened in 2018 and is based in Montenotte. The other shop opened in 2020 and is located in the Student Hub, UCC.
Roots UCC alone serves up to 200 cups of coffee a day. Since its opening, up to 50 people have obtained work experience with 15 of these securing full-time employment as a result of the skills learned at the coffee shop.
Down Syndrome Ireland employment team has done a huge amount of outreach to the food and catering sector to change the perception of people with Down Syndrome in the sector and to get more people who have Down Syndrome employed in the sector. In total Down Syndrome Ireland estimates that more than 50 people with Down Syndrome have been employed by these companies
Aryzta, Compass @ Google, Aramark @ Allianz, Conrad Hotel, Carton House, iNua, Press UP Group (Dean Dublin, Dean Cork, Mayson Hotel, Devlin Hotel, Shoreline Cafe Greystones & Kitchen 28 Kilcoole (part of Andrew Holmes Catering)
Maldron Hotel Wexford, Rise Cafe Greystones, Fat Fox Cafe Greystones, Clayton Hotel Galway (Dalata), House Bar, Leeson Street, Artizan (HQ & at Facebook), Harveys Point Donegal, Jackie’s Bar & Anti Social Bar Dublin, D Hotel, Woodlands Hotel, House Limerick.
Field of Dreams (FOD)
Built in 2017 to meet the ongoing learning needs of adults with Down Syndrome across Cork City & County, the Field of Dreams was developed by Down Syndrome Ireland, Cork branch. Their website states “We provide bespoke training for adults with Down syndrome and this, coupled with hands-on Employment Support (for both the employee and the employer) has been critical in successfully integrating our FOD students into the workplace.”
The Field of Dreams boasts a training room, commercial grade kitchen with cafe area, 3 polytunnels, market garden, sensory garden, remembrance garden, fruit garden, orchard, covered courtyard and recreational areas. It will combine horticulture skills with workplace readiness, taking advantage of the unique and inspirational site we have available to us here in Cork.
Supporting students to get work-ready. This includes building individual profiles to ascertain their strengths, goals & preferences. interview prep, CV prep, work skills & behaviours.
Providing ‘hands on’ practical advice & guidance in relation to employing a person with Down Syndrome. Educate staff within the workplace on how best to assist and provide direction to people with DS.
One of the best known Irish social enterprises. The company was established in 2013 by Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien, with a shared vision of no good food going to waste.
Food Cloud matches companies with a surplus of food to companies and Not for profits that need food. Since 2013, Food Cloud has collected the equivalent of €1.5 million in food donations which have been shared with those who need it in local communities.
Since 2014, Tesco has donated the equivalent of over 17 million meals through the Surplus Food Donations Programme to more than 380 community groups throughout Ireland.
Part of Food Cloud’s mission of being driven by kindness is employing people from disadvantaged groups, such as long term unemployed, migrants to Ireland or people with disabilities.
Link Galway
I asked Link Galway’s manager Shane Tuohy to send over some information on the organisation he said “Link currently employs 7 people with intellectual disabilities at Cafe Link, 25 Newcastle Road, Galway on the grounds of community healthcare west which is 18 years in operation this year. At the new castle cafe, all our staff receive a wage. At Sandy road, we also had a cafe from 1990-2020 but we did not reopen after Covid as we were very quiet leading up to this and could no longer compete with other cafes as well as paying a training allowance as the disability policy shifted.
We will however, part of the city development for the Sandy Road district, be getting a brand new cafe when the development is complete in the heart of the new neighbourhood which will create further employment opportunities.
Currently, Sandy Road is a culinary skills training centre for people with disabilities but we no longer supply our cafe currently. We are waiting to hear back on some grant submissions to relaunch a separate social enterprise in this space. The culinary training centre will also be included in the new development attached to the new cafe. Excitingly, Cafe Link @ 25 Newcastle Road, is receiving fresh investment from the HSE to give the social enterprise a facelift. We have an outdoor designer as well as a separate internal designer ready to work within the next two weeks. We will be producing food on site for the first time rather than buying it in with the new kitchen equipment being sourced by the HSE. We will also be providing additional training opportunities for existing staff to upskill and enhance their current skills in their own cafe.”
As it says on their website “From Monday to Friday, Loaf Café in Kilmainham will be serving delicious coffees, sweet treats, lunches, and our award-winning sausage rolls that are made from scratch by their team. Loaf’s menu caters for all dietary requirements, with a variety of gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options available to choose from.
When you pay a visit to our café in Kilmainham you will also find our Loaf Pottery. This is a stunning range of handmade Irish pottery, with
a social purpose at its heart. When you purchase our Loaf Pottery the profits are reinvested to support people with intellectual disabilities and autism into jobs with a future. Our unique artisan pottery has been crafted with love and care by our in-house potters who are based in County Down. From pottery mugs to pottery gift sets, you will find something to suit everyone’s taste!
Our aim is to provide employment opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities within our hospitality venues. Down Syndrome Ireland is a key partner in supporting our goal of embracing diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We have experienced first-hand how diversity within the team unites and empowers our culture.”
We work with the Employability section of Down Syndrome Ireland who do amazing work on getting their members ready to enter the labour market. From there we meet with prospective candidates for interviews as our aim is to ensure members of DSI receive the full employment experience. When selected, a member from our HR in The Stella located in her workplace The Devlin.
The Rainbow Club Cork Centre for Autism is a professional autism service provider, supported by over 60 volunteers, with a mission to provide skills, support and a community hub for children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families in order to promote inclusivity, education and career opportunities leading to a fulfilled lifestyle and participation in all aspects of society. Karen O’Mahony founded the Rainbow Club Cork Centre for Autism in 2015 with her husband Jon in response to their search for
services for their two sons Stephen and Sean. In just four years Karen and Sean have built an organisation that currently supports more than 1,200 children and their families every week.
One of the children Karen supports is her son Sean, who has autism. Sean started baking at the start of the lockdown during Covid-19, and discovered a real passion for it. Once restrictions were reduced Sean started as a trainee baker in the academy’s cafe. He then started his own business in a cafe called The Autistic Baker. Recently in 2021 Sean was awarded The Enterprising Teen Award at The 2021 Garda Youth Awards.
Originally founded in 1975 by a team of volunteers led by Fr. Tony Scalla, it was then renamed the County Wexford Community Workshop and in 2023 the organisation became Reach Ability. Today, Reach Ability has grown to become one of the south-east’s largest providers of services to children and adults with an intellectual disability and their families.
They now provide a range of support to over 200 people, from early childhood to older age. On their website they say “We employ 180 staff and have a team of 60 dedicated volunteers.” As part of their community employment scheme, they employ 15 people annually and these people are located in Bellefield Design, Kilcannon Garden Centre and Restaurant. The employment programme is run over 3 years and is full time, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm (30 hours).
The organisation was originally formed in the UK, by Scottish man Chris Sandford but has since expanded into Ireland. In 2022 they created “A new all Ireland cookery competition, which aims to enhance young people’s culinary skills while using a “buddy system” to bring down barriers associated with disabilities, which has been launched by Rotary Ireland and the Culinary Ability Awards (CAA).”
According to the Rotary Ireland on their website it said “We want budding young chefs, abled and disabled from all over the island,
north and south, to come together in a safe and fun-loving environment to learn and compete against each other under the guidance of fully qualified chefs. The buddy or pairing system will be key and we’ll be putting a lot of thought into that. We are delighted to partner with CAA for this event which clearly supports the values of both our organisations. We are looking forward to hundreds of young people entering this competition and we would urge parents, teachers and youth workers all over the island to encourage them to do so.”
Young people across Ireland can enter via their schools, youth clubs, youth associations, support bodies or by contacting the more than 70 Rotary Clubs in Ireland
Based in Smithfield in Dublin 7, Third Space was opened in 2012 by CEO Seán Mullan, Third spaces are local gathering places, where people who live and/or work in the area gather regularly, informally, inexpensively and comfortably. The main aim of the business is not
profit maximisation but viability and social benefits. One of its core values is to “train people towards transformation” and this includes people with disabilities.
Through their community-based model, Third Space can employ and welcome onto training placements underrepresented groups in society. In Third Space all employees are treated equally and fairly, we treat each other with respect and dignity at all times. We all thrive together! And we have serious fun working hard as a team.
Together Academy’s CEO Therese Coveney decided to respond to the fact that 90% of people with Down Syndrome are unemployed by providing a cafe whose mission would be to employ people with the condition and train them to work in the industry.
The social enterprise came through the Social Enterprise Ireland Ideas Academy, despite lockdowns, and other issues brought about by Covid-19 as they say on their website “Commencing in Dublin in
2021, The Together Academy will be a catering and hospitality based educational college and social enterprise café. It will be designed for a future national roll out to fulfil a huge unmet demand throughout the country.”
The cafe is located in Wanderers Rugby Club House with opening hours of Monday-Thursday, 10.00am-2.00pm for coffee, pastries and a relaxed lunch. However, Together is due to open its newest cafe, Happy Out, at the Dun Laoghaire Baths will offer the local community a cool, urban and inclusive café staffed by an integrated team from Happy Out and Together Academy graduates.
WALK’s philosophy is that everyone who wishes to work, can do so once they are provided with the right support and reasonable accommodations. We don’t just believe in jobs but in careers for people with disabilities intertwined in a continuous lifelong learning journey. Our role is to facilitate individuals to fulfil their career and employment ambitions by supporting them to realise their potential, access opportunities and build their own natural support network. WALK have developed and continue to deliver pre-employment programmes in the public, civil and private sector, successfully transitioning individuals to paid employment in all these areas and consequently increasing the rate of employment for people with intellectual disabilities and Autism in Ireland.
It is this vision that underpinned WALK’s development of ‘The Green Kitchen & Garden Shop’ based in Walkinstown in Dublin 12. This is a social enterprise that prides itself on its tasty, nutritious, home-cooked foods and serves coffee from the award-winning coffee roasters, Bell Lane Coffee.
The café has a relaxed, warm and welcoming community atmosphere and the staff team really enjoy getting to know their customers. In addition, it supports and trains people with disabilities on the job, in a busy and dynamic work environment. The aim is that these individuals grow and develop employability skills within the catering sector and continue onto paid employment in the open labour market.