Focus
- Education and training
- Young people / youth work
- Services for people with disabilities
- Social inclusion
- Anti-discrimination
- Human Rights
- Unemployment
- Employment and job creation
Interest
- Research
- Policy, advocacy and campaigns
- Community outreach and engagement
- Development of education and training materials and programmes
- European learning networks and exchanges
Organisation
Specialisterne Ireland, a specialist recruitment service, is part of an international network of Specialisterne organisations across 14 countries. The word ‘Specialisterne’ translates from Danish as ‘The Specialists’. The Specialisterne Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Specialisterne Foundation is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications. It is a member of the United Nations Global Compact.
As part of the Specialist People Foundation, Specialisterne Ireland contributes to a global goal of enabling meaningful jobs for one million autistic/ neurodivergent people by 2030. Specialisterne Ireland was established in 2012 to support autistic people in preparing for, gaining, and maintaining employment options matching their potential. The organisation has recently expanded its services to include support for those with other conditions, like ADHD, Dyspraxia/DCD and Dyslexia, to secure meaningful jobs and training opportunities. In tandem, Specialisterne works with businesses, third-level education institutions, and community service providers committed to embedding Diversity & Inclusion practices in their organisations.
We support Candidates applying for jobs through CV and cover letter feedback, assistance with job searches, and structured mock interview preparation at no cost to them. For employers, we offer our Mentorship Programme and end-to-end communication to partner companies’ HR and managers. Specialisterne Ireland shows how workplace inclusivity is about creating a culture shaped by and for everyone within it.
EU Project Experience
"NEW – NEurodiversity at Work" Project (2022 – 2024), an ERASMUS +Key Action 2: Strategic Partnerships supporting Innovation - Key Action 2:Strategic Partnerships in the field of Vocational Education and Training
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many small and micro enterprises to reshape their working methods, which revealed some effective leadership practices. Lack of knowledge about neurodiversity - including ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia - also intensified workplace inequality. NEW will address this inequality by raising awareness about neurodiversity - a key pillar of Diversity & Inclusion - in SMEs across Europe, positioning it as a competitive advantage. Between 2022-2024, NEW will develop an awareness-raising strategy, an (r)evolutionary inclusion model, and a European ‘NEurodiversity at Work’ Network.
EU Funding Goals
To learn from European best practice and case studies - and to share our experience also.
Strengths
Specialisterne Ireland is unique in providing free ongoing support to autistic and neurodivergent candidates. We support candidates in their employment trajectory for however long they require, even if this is intermittently over many years. In this way, we are candidate-centric and provide bespoke coaching for an otherwise neglected demographic.
