For the third year in a row Guidant Global have been shortlisted as a finalist by RIDI (Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative) for their annual awards.
For 2019 the awards were held at AXA XL in London and hosted by Paralympian gold medallist, Liz Johnson, who put on a stellar performance, keeping the winner announcements on schedule and continually making the room laugh, which really added to the spirit of celebration.
With a full-house turn out on the night and having been involved with RIDI since its inception it was a real joy to clearly witness RIDI’s reach and influence continue to grow each year.
The RIDI Awards celebrate progress and recognise the success of employers and recruiters that are making headway in increasing the inclusion of disabled talent. As an organisation that firmly supports disability confidence, we are incredibly proud to have already won multiple RIDI awards and to celebrate the achievements of other like-minded organisations.
Guidant Global were shortlisted for the “Extending the reach” award, which recognises excellence in candidate sourcing recognises organisations which have taken a proactive and inclusive candidate sourcing strategy to attract disabled talent.
We knew we were up against stiff competition in the category, and an excellent submission from The Civil Service was the well-deserved award winner on the night.
Their proactive efforts to attract disabled people into the organisation saw 46 autistic individuals placed into intern roles over 2018/19, for ten governmental departments. By leading the way in this area the Civil Service has extended its reach and made a real difference to the work prospects of adults who are on the autism spectrum. Congratulations on a brilliant initiative and very worthy winners.
Guidant Global are of course, incredibly proud to have been finalists rubbing shoulders with such an exceptional initiative championing autism in the workplace.
A special mention must also go to CLARITY who won the Greatest Impact award which is voted for by the audience at the awards ceremony. CLARITY is a social enterprise and charity that has been employing, training and supporting people with disabilities since 1854. CLARITY has helped thousands of people with disabilities since it was founded and it currently employs 110 staff, 91 of whom (83%) have a disability. Together they make beautiful soaps and toiletry products which you can find out about on their website.
All the information on the 2019 RIDI award-winning submissions can be found at the RIDI website here.
Chair of the Judging Panel and RIDI executive team, Kate Headley, commented on the 2019 RIDI Awards:
“The RIDI Awards are the culmination of another year’s hard work campaigning for greater inclusion for disabled professionals. This year’s entries were extremely strong, and all of the stories that were shared with us were truly inspiring. Singling out winners from such a strong pool of applications was tough, but we believe the winners we have chosen were truly exceptional. I’d especially like to praise the strength and number of entries in the Getting Started category. With more companies than ever beginning their Disability Confidence journey, there’s every reason to be optimistic for the future.’’
“I’d also like to thank our judges, who have volunteered their time in order to make this incredible journey possible. While there’s still a long way to go, judging by the progress made this year – we are getting much closer to real change. I firmly believe that we are on the path to creating a Disability Confident landscape for all disabled job seekers.”