The University of Bristol is proud to be a Next Generation Inclusive University in partnership with disability organisation EmployAbility – together we strive to put disability inclusion at the heart of what we do.
EmployAbility supports disabled and neurodivergent students looking for employment or internships, both during their studies and after they graduate.
They support them to get reasonable adjustments in place, to enable them to perform at their best at all stages of the recruitment process, and in the workplace.
We’re here to tell you a little bit more about the services EmployAbility offers and how they can support you.
One-to-one appointments to discuss your questions and needs
If you think you could benefit from talking to one of EmployAbility’s expert advisors, you can book a one-to-one session at a time convenient to you. In these fifteen-minute meetings, you can get impartial advice about things like disclosing at different stages, reasonable adjustments and your rights.
To arrange an appointment you can either book via mycareer, or, if none of the times listed work for you, contact EmployAbility directly by registering with them on their website and then emailing them with your availability at info@employ-ability.org.uk.
Appointments are usually by phone, but you can request another mode if that would work better for you.
Top Tip: If you’re contacting EmployAbility directly, let them know that you’re a University of Bristol student to access their full suite of support.
Internships and graduate programmes
EmployAbility partner with inclusive employers so that students can be confident that they will be competing on a level playing field for internships and graduate programmes. Their partners include big names such as Goldman Sachs and Google.
Events and workshops
Employer insight days and skills workshops can maximise your chances of success when it comes to applying for internships or graduate roles. As a University of Bristol student, you can access both general events hosted by EmployAbility (which you can find on their website), as well as University of Bristol exclusive events which you can view on mycareer.
Personal advocacy
Another service that EmployAbility offer is to advocate and speak to employers about your adjustment needs on your behalf so that you have one less thing to worry about during the application process. EmployAbility will liaise with employers directly, discuss your needs, and ensure any adjustments you require are made in good time.
“During my application process at a law firm […] EmployAbility had corresponded with Graduate Recruitment many times to ensure that all my needs were met.”
Zak, a Bristol student who used EmployAbility’s services
They’re also there for you throughout the application process, as Zak goes on to say:
“During what can be an extremely stressful period, it was a great relief knowing that if I needed any support, the team at EmployAbility was just a phone call away”.
Scholarships
EmployAbility provide academic scholarships for neurodivergent and disabled students. One scheme that they offer is the Bending Spoons EmployAbility Computer Science Scholarship which is a €10,000 academic scholarship open to anyone studying or planning to study for a bachelor’s or master’s in computer science or a related field.
You can check out other support available to disabled and neurodivergent students by visiting our dedicated careers guide for disabled and neurodivergent students.
View our Adjustments in recruitment and the workplace: your rights video with EmployAbility.
If you have any questions about the support that the Careers Service and EmployAbility can offer you, speak to us on live chat, or pop into 5 Tyndall Avenue during opening hours.