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Date posted: 16th June 2021

16th June 2021

Guest Blog: Learning Disability Week: Is Learning and Development a part of your DEI strategy?

Guest Blog: Learning Disability Week: Is Learning and Development a part of your DEI strategy?

Many organisations are waking up to the benefits of a neurodiverse workforce. The business case is clear. One report from Accenture estimates that The GDP could get a boost up to $25 billion if just 1 percent more of persons with disabilities joined the U.S. labor force. But having a strategy for inclusive hiring strategies isn’t enough.

How many organisations are including Learning and Development in their DEI strategy? For learning disability week, Mark Probert has put together five things you may want to consider to make your learning and development a part of your DEI strategy.


  1. Have an accessible, self-paced learning platform

    Training and development programs need to be self-paced and accessible online. This will allow your employees to work at their own pace and in the environment that suits them best, whether that’s in the office or at home.

  2. Offer refresher courses

    Make sure you offer refresher courses, or the ability to go back to already completed training, to allow employees to take control over their own development and re-visit sections that they feel less comfortable with.

  3. Use your line managers as line coaches

    Helping people learn isn’t about supervising what they do but helping them to acquire the skills to do it better. That’s why I love the concept of a line coach rather than a line manager. A line coach is there to raise the game of the whole team.

  4. Enable people to set goals and measure their performance against those goals

    If you enable people to set personal goals for their own development, it’s vital that you also provide them access to how their performance is being measured. In this way they will be able to grow in confidence as each step in their development journey is achieved. It will also make it easier for line mangers to behave like line coaches.

You can read the article in full online: Learning Disability Week: Does Your DEI Strategy Include Learning and Development?

Make sure to explore Inspiring Workplaces for other content and insights about Diversity and Inclusion.