NOW Group Celebrates Securing Almost 400 Jobs for People with Disabilities
Championing employment opportunities for neurodivergent and autistic individuals for over 25 years, the NOW Group has just announced its 2024/25 impact report, which includes the creation of almost 400 jobs across the island – jobs for the future for participants.
Not only did the social enterprise achieve its best-ever jobs support figure, but the NOW Group team supported 2,168 people gain 1824 qualifications in the past 12 months.
NOW Group recently expanded its operations to Ireland, and from a standing start, 27 paid jobs were secured in Dublin and Galway in the past year.
Local employers include Galgorm Collection, Musgrave Group, Essence Vault and Mount Charles amongst others.
“We want to be the Inclusion Partner of Choice for business so that we can significantly increase the number of people with disabilities in paid employment across this island. We work with employers every day who are making a real difference in people’s lives. They’re they are working with us to think differently about how they fill roles while nurturing diverse talent to create truly inclusive workplaces in Northern Ireland and Dublin.” comments Maeve Monaghan, CEO of NOW Group.
Maeve continues: “Our team’s efforts are fundamental to our success, but to create ‘jobs with a future’ across Ireland, we also need open-minded and progressive businesses. We’re so thankful to our partner businesses who have played an enormous role in helping us to achieve almost 400 paid jobs for our participants.
“We see this as a win - win for business and for the amazing people we support. I will always champion inclusion and as businesses look to the future, our team can demonstrate how inclusion is not just a social responsibility - it’s a business advantage that drives innovation, performance and long-term success, and makes a huge difference to society.”
In the past five years, the NOW Group has created over 1,000 jobs for participants in Northern Ireland, and in Ireland, an ambitious growth plans aims to support 700 people with disabilities into paid jobs within the next three years.
The NOW Group offers employment services across Northern Ireland and has recently expanded into Dublin, Monaghan, Cavan, Louth, and Meath with a pilot programme running in Galway.
Sean Hanna, Director of Operations at the NOW Group adds: “I’m so proud of our team's hard work, dedication, and commitment. This level of performance is exceptional and is a result of the collective effort of our team in collaborating with strategic partners, funders, businesses and others who share our determination to create more diverse societies where everyone benefits.
“We are grateful to every one of our jobs partners who work alongside out team to create or provide job opportunities for our participants. Of particular note is the Lidl Partnership who have employed almost 20 NOW Group participants over the last two years. This demonstrates a true understanding of what it takes to be a business that embraces inclusion, offering opportunities for all. Thank you Adele Lyle, Ivan Ryan and team at Lidl for your commitment.”
For businesses that don’t know where to start in creating more inclusive teams, the NOW Group can help. The social enterprise is open to partnering with forward-thinking businesses and organisations that embrace all abilities across every industry, including Hospitality, Catering and Digital.
To learn more about partnering with NOW Group and to make a lasting impact in your business, visit www.nowgroup.org.