Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD)

AHEAD is the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability and is an independent non-profit organisation working to promote full access to and participation in further and higher education for students/people with disabilities and to enhance their employment prospects.

AHEAD provides information to students and graduates with disabilities, teachers, guidance counsellors and parents on disability issues in education.

AHEAD works with graduates and employers through the Get AHEAD Graduate Forum (see below) and the WAM Mentored Work Placement Programme (see below).

AHEAD coordinates LINK, a worldwide network of professionals promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in Higher Education managed by six European partner organisations.

Get AHEAD

Get AHEAD is an initiative of AHEAD which has been running since 2005. It is a network of people, students and graduates with disabilities currently making the transition from third-level education to full-time employment. It works to up-skill graduates with disabilities by providing training events and valuable information covering a wide range of topics and resources including;

Willing Able Mentoring (WAM)

Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) is a work placement programme which aims to promote access to the labour market for people with disabilities and build the capacity of employers to integrate disability into the mainstream workplace.

Participating employers (WAM Leaders) collaborate with WAM to offer mentored, paid, work placements for people with disabilities. This partnership brings people with disabilities and employers together so that both can benefit from each other, ensuring genuine learning opportunities for all.

WAM is unique in that it seeks to engage and support employers in order to simultaneously develop the potential of employers and people with disabilities.

Since 2005, The WAM Programme has provided over 400 placements for people with disabilities and worked with the dynamic networks of employers:

Source: ahead.ie