Disability awareness training can be useful for employers, managers, and co-workers who may be coming into contact with a colleague with a disability, perhaps for the first time. Frequently, negative attitudes towards disability arise from lack of knowledge and information. Awareness training will prompt employees to think about the issue in a constructive way and to acknowledge the importance of their behaviour and their use of language.

Ultimately, awareness training should form part of the normal induction process, apprising new employees of the company's standards in relation to disability issues. While all employees will benefit from awareness training, a priority must be given to managers, supervisors, team leaders and anyone involved in the recruitment process.

Disability Awareness Training Grants are available to employers, from FAS, who have a list of accredited trainers. Funding is available at a level of 90% in cost in the first year and 80% in cost in the subsequent years.

FÁS Employee Retention Grant Scheme ? Keeping People in Work:

• Your company has spent time, effort and money recruiting, training and developing your staff.
• You value them and realise that it makes economic sense to maintain their loyalty and retain their valuable expertise and knowledge of how your company operates.
• You are aware of the time and cost of recruiting replacement staff and training them to achieve full productivity.

However, if an employee acquires an illness, condition or impairment, you don?t want to feel that you have lost their valuable contribution to your company ? nor do you need to.

The Employee Retention Grant Scheme aims to encourage you, as the employer, to retain employees who acquire an illness, condition or impairment which impacts on their ability to carry out their job and, in that context, to explore their continuing capacity to operate as productive members of your workforce.

It will assist in maintaining the employability of the employee when he/she acquires an illness, condition or impairment (occupational or otherwise) by providing funding to:

• Identify accommodation and/or training to enable him/her to remain in his/her current position, or
• re-train him/her so that s/he can take up another position within the company.

How does it work?

This Scheme consists of two stages:

• Stage I facilitates employers by enabling them to ?buy-in? external specialist skills and knowledge needed to develop an individualised ?Retention Strategy? for the employee who acquires a disability,
• Stage II provides funding to the employer towards the implementation of the written Retention Strategy, including re-training, job coaching and/or hiring of an external co-ordinator to oversee and manage its implementation.

Who is Eligible?

• The scheme is open to all companies in the private sector
• Funding is available to support the retention of an existing employee, at all levels and occupations within the company, who acquires an illness, condition or impairment (occupational or otherwise), which impacts on their current ability to do the job.

What funds are available?

Stage I: Development of the Retention Strategy

Funding of 90% of eligible programme cost is available to companies up to a maximum of 2,500 Euro, towards the development of a Retention Strategy for any one employee.

Stage II: Implementation of the Retention Strategy

Funding of 90% of eligible programme cost is available to companies up to a maximum of 12,500 Euro, towards the implementation of a Retention Strategy for any one employee. Funding for the specialist personnel is limited to a set number of hours and, application may not be made without the support of an individualised Retention Strategy

How to apply?

If you require further information or would like to apply for this grant, please contact your local FÁS Services to Business for a copy of the General Conditions governing the Employee Retention Grant Scheme.