Cooperative Education & Careers Division

• Services and contact information
• Access to information
• Useful links
• Useful contacts

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Services and contact information

The Careers Support Service is a specialist service to help students with disabilities with all aspects of career planning. We provide advice, information and support from the time you start in UL, through your Cooperative Education placement, and as you prepare for the next stage in your career, which includes employment or postgraduate study. One of the specialist services we provide is the Inclusion website which is tailored for students and graduates with disabilities.

As a student dealing with an illness or disability are there issues that concern you when preparing for and making career choices?

Do you need any special support when accessing the range of services available to you through the Careers Service?

Do issues like attending interviews, accessing information and disclosing health matters to an employer present special concerns?

A special Careers Advice and Support Service is available to students who are registered with the Disability Service. In addition to general service provision, the Careers Service supports special needs across all aspects of career planning and career strategy development. The service aims to support students with career planning from the point of admission to U.L. Students are welcomed and encouraged to use the facilities of this service.

How to contact us: Careers Advice and Support Service, Room E0019,

Services include:

• Inclusion website: The dedicated website of the Careers Support Service for students and graduates with disabilities.
• Individual Advisory Sessions. Considering your options and developing a career plan. Help with writing effective applications.
• Careers Resource Area. Understanding and accessing the full range of services available to you.
• Individual CV Clinics. Preparing your C.V. and accompanying supporting statement. Looking at models of positive disclosure http://www.ahead.ie/
• Individual Interview Workshops. Preparing and planning for your support needs at the interview stage. Reviewing appropriate interview strategies for the sensory impaired. Doing practice interview and feedback sessions.
• Assistive Technology. Accessing Computerised Careers Advice and online Skill Development packages. Particularly useful resources are the on line Key Skills package and Destinations®
• On-line Discussion Forum. Getting in touch with other students who have similar career related support needs.
• Ensuring Inclusive Forum. Advising staff in advance of access and support requirements to ensure that you can fully participate in events like the Careers Fair and employer presentations.
• Email Queries
  If you cannot find the information or advice you need on our website, you can use the Email Query service.

Recent Publications:

• Looking for Work - Directory on the supports that are available to graduates with disabilities who are seeking employment.
• Towards Equal Outcomes (pdf) - Report on the employment experiences of UL graduates with disabilities.

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Access to information

Planning your career

There is a lot of help available to get the information required to develop a career plan and there is an increasing awareness of the need to make that information accessible.

A number of core Career publications and specialist publications are available in alternative formats. A range of audio and video materials are also available in the Careers Resource Area. These include material on

• Career Planning
• Effective Applications
• Interview Techniques

Students should visit the area and check the listings and indices of available material.

Increasingly, the web is proving to be the most effective and accessible information platform. In Cooperation with the Careers Service, the Assistive Technology Unit provides each student with an individual review to establish the most appropriate route to access career information. Students should visit the area, which is housed on the first floor of the main library building or contact Conor.Hartigan@ul.ie.

Once the student has identified the most appropriate route to gaining information, there is a vast amount of web-based resources that will prove useful tools in career planning.

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Useful links

• www.employers-forum.co.uk
• cando.lancs.ac.uk
• www.lancs.ac.uk
• www.skill.org.uk
• www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/p!eLaXi
• www.disabilitynet.co.uk
• www.microsoft.com/enable/training/hearing
• www.ahead.ie
• www.fas.ie
• www.agcas.csu.ac.uk

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Useful contacts

Brenda Shinners-Kennedy
Disability Liaison Officer
Library Bldg, BG10036
Brenda.Shinners-kennedy@ul.ie

Conor Hartigan
Assisitive Technology Trainer
Assistive Technology Centre
Library Bldg, BGl0036
Conor.Hartigan@ul.ie 

Gavin Connell
Head of Careers
Cooperative Education & Careers Division
Room DM036
Gavin.Connell@ul.ie

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