How does the WAM programme work?

There are a number of elements to the WAM programme but at its core are the mentored work placements and its network of employers.

As part of the programme participating employers offer six months paid and mentored work placements within their organisations. These are typically mainstream graduate entry level positions within the company and graduates must compete for roles that are available, as they would when applying for any job.

In order to be eligible to apply for a work placement on the programme, a graduate must have a disability or specific learning difficulty and a minimum of a leaving cert qualification. However, please note that individual employers will have minimum qualifications requirements for their roles and this can vary between different employers.

WAM Work Placement Rounds

WAM has a network of employers who offer work placements on the programme to enable graduates to gain work experience in their area of interest. WAM, in liaison with an employer, will agree on suitable placements for circulation to graduates through the WAM programme. The number of work placements that are available varies from year to year and will depend on which employers offer work placements in any given year. Therefore not all the employers involved with the programme will have placements available every year.

WAM has held a number of rounds of placements since the project began in 2005 and has successfully placed 118 graduates with disabilities across a wide range of organizations.

Types of Placement Positions taken up by WAM Graduates include:

- Manufacturing Engineering

- Environmental Health & Safety Coordinator

- Information Systems Support

- Clerical Officer & Executive Officer roles

- Software Engineer

- Communications & Documents Analyst

- Legal Research

- Project Assistant

- HR Assistant

- Micro Lab Role

- Information Systems Analyst

- Supply Chain

- Occupational Health

- Settlements Officer

- Technical Support

WAM Recruitment and Selection

Notification of WAM work placements is circulated to our mailing list of graduates as they become available. WAM also advertises nationally through newspapers, radio, and our network of contacts in disability services and careers services across the third level sector.

In order to apply for a work placement, interested graduates must fill out a WAM application form and return this to WAM, together with an updated CV. WAM will forward all CVs to individual employers who will carry out CV screening and interviewing.

Although WAM advertises the roles that are available, each employer will carry out their own recruitment and selection processes following their normal in-house procedures. WAM is therefore a mainstream competitive process and there is no guarantee of interview or of a placement on the programme. Graduates, similar to applying for any role, will have to compete against each other and often there are more applications than placements available.

WAM Needs Assessment

Following the recruitment process, a needs assessment is undertaken with each candidate to be placed on the programme. The needs assessment will look at what reasonable accommodations, if any, the candidate will require to undertake the role. The needs assessment is administered by WAM, not the employer and provides the space for a potential employee to discuss and make requests for job based supports.

A Needs Assessment recommendations report is written up in consultation with the candidate and is passed on to the employer before the placement commences.

The following are some examples of the types of reasonable accommodations that have been put in place by employers for WAM graduates:

Assistive Technology for visually impaired graduates such as JAWS, Kurzweil and Screen magnification software.
Sign language interpreters for interviews with graduates who are deaf and where necessary once in the placement for example, at induction or group meetings.
Time off for medical appointments.

FÁS have a number of employer grants and supports available that employers can utilize to help fund the cost of reasonable accommodations.

FAS employer grants information

The WAM Mentoring Model

Mentoring is fundamental to the WAM approach and key to its success. Mentoring is a process through which an experienced person provides support, guidance and encouragement to a less experienced person.

Every graduate who is placed on the WAM programme is allocated an in-house mentor; someone who works in the same organisation but is not the mentee’s direct line manager or supervisor. The mentor fundamentally acts as a sounding board for the mentee and also helps with social integration into the workplace. Sometimes a mentor can be just that person you go for coffee with once a week to discuss how you are settling in.

Pre-placement training

Prior to the commencement of placements, training is provided to participating managers, mentors and mentees (placed candidates) on the programme. Training covers topics such as the WAM programme itself, disability awareness, the mentoring model and work ethics. It is during the pre-placement training that mentors and mentees are brought together for the first time to establish the boundaries and ground rules of their new relationship.

Evaluation

WAM evaluates each round of placements to gather the learning from all the parties involved, which includes managers, mentors, mentees and HR staff. The purpose of this evaluation is to ensure that WAM captures and consolidates the learning from all perspectives involved in the programme. This is then fed back into the WAM network of employers.

For further information and to view previous WAM evaluations please click here...