OWL programme

The next OWL training programme will commence in September 2025. For further information on how to apply to future intakes, please contact:

Dublin area: Jessica Potter

Kildare area: Peter Furlong

To apply to become an OWL trainee, you must

• be willing and able to take part for 30 hours per week
• have an intellectual disability or autism
• be able to travel independently
• be eligible to receive appropriate HSE funding for WALK or Kare to provide a service

The first step is to contact WALK or Kare, depending on where you live. They will send you an application form and more information.

If you live in the Dublin area, contact Jessica Potter, day service programme coordinator at WALK at jessica.potter@walk.ie.

If you live in the Kildare area, contact Peter Furlong, operations manager at Kare at peter.furlong@kare.ie.

The Houses of the Oireachtas Service gives Kare and WALK a list of the roles available.

Kare and WALK refer suitable applicants to the Houses of the Oireachtas Service for shortlisting for roles identified.

Suitable applicants attend a 20-minute formal supported interview and complete a 20 minute practical assessment in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Suitable applicants receive the interview questions, assessment details and marking criteria in advance and reasonable accommodations are agreed and put in place, as required.

The interview carries 40 marks and the practical assessment carries 25 marks. Applicants are scored separately by three interviewers and two assessors. The scores are then combined.

Applicants must meet the minimum threshold to be successful.

Where many applicants meet the minimum threshold, applicants will be ranked based on scoring.

Applicants are informed of the outcome of the interview and assessment process within one week and unsuccessful applicants are given information on other available services.

It takes 10 to 12 months to complete the OWL training programme. It is made up of three 10-12 week work experience placements and a weekly classroom-based training on site with the City of Dublin Education and Training Board.

All placements are full time. You would be expected to attend 30 hours per week, generally between 10 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.

No. The OWL training programme is an unpaid learning, development and socialisation programme.

No, but your social welfare payments may change if you get a paid job.

If you get paid employment, it may affect your social welfare payments. This varies depending on your circumstances and we recommend you discuss it with your service provider.

Meanwhile, here is some general information on the Disability Allowance and medical card.

The Disability Allowance payment is a means tested payment. If you earn up to €165 from work this is not considered in the means test. If you earn between €165 and €375 each week from work 50% of your pay is not considered in the Disability Allowance means test. All pay from work over €375 is assessed as income and your Disability Allowance payment will be reduced in line with the “appropriate reduced rates of payment for Disability Allowance”. The Department of Social Protection publishes a Social Welfare Rates of Payment booklet each year.

The medical card is also means tested. If you are getting Disability Allowance and working, income you earn up to €427 per week is not taken into account in the means test for the medical card.

Roles in each work experience rotation vary and can include:

• General clerical duties, including data entry, checking and copying in spreadsheets, typing letters and other word-processing documents, as well as retyping corrected documents
• Managing, arranging and updating files, including hard-copy and electronic files
• Carrying out research on specific topics
• Registering and matching invoices, setting up new suppliers on our finance system and inputting leave into the human resources system
• Shredding and paper stocking for printers
• Sorting and distributing post

Kare and WALK provide two full-time OWL co-ordinators based on site in Leinster House. These co-ordinators are funded by the Health Service Executive. The co-ordinators provide support to each trainee throughout the programme. Section heads and mentors or buddies also provide coaching, mentoring and active learning during each work experience placement.

Each trainee completes induction once they start the programme and this includes lots of information about the supports available to them.

On placement each trainee is expected to:

• Participate in all workplace learning
• Develop team-building skills
• Engage with workplace supports, coaching and mentoring
• Apply workplace knowledge in each work experience placement
• Work towards a formal QQI qualification at level 3/4/5. All programmes are tailored to suit individual learner needs.
• Participate in workplace socialisation opportunities

There is no guarantee of a full-time job from the OWL training programme. Kare and WALK help OWL graduates seek full-time or part-time employment in the public or private sectors. Some graduates have secured contracts in a number of other Government Departments and offices.

There are a number of other options available to people if they are not eligible for the OWL programme, these include:

HSE Occupational Guidance Officers

The HSE Occupational Guidance Service helps people with a disability to find training options or support services that best suits their needs. Information on services per county is available on the local HSE disability service page.

Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme

The organisation AHEAD run a work placement programme for graduates called the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme. This is a work placement programme that aims to promote access to the labour market for graduates with disabilities and build the capacity of employers to integrate disability into the mainstream workplace.

Contact details for WAM: wam@ahead.ie | 01 592 3667

EmployAbility

The EmployAbility service is a national service which provides an employment support service for people with a:

• Health condition
• Injury
• Illness
• Disability

It provides:

• A professional job-matching service to help ensure successful recruitment
• Advice and information on additional employment supports
• Ongoing support for both the employer and employee throughout employment

It is also a recruitment advice service for the business community. It will give employers access to a pool of potential employees with varying levels of skills, abilities and training.

• Find your local Employability service

OWL training programme

The OWL training programme is an unpaid applied learning, development and socialisation programme for young adults with an intellectual disability. The programme is based on the European Union of Supported Employment model (EUSE) and aims to provide an applied learning experience to up to ten trainees in a busy work setting.

The training programme is facilitated by the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, which provides blended work experience placements and through sourcing work experience placements across other Civil Service Departments and offices.The training programme is currently in its fifth year. Kare and WALK, two voluntary bodies that provide services and supports to adults with an intellectual disability, provide the employment supports while the City of Dublin Education and Training Board supports the trainees to achieve a level 3/4/5 QQI qualification.

OWL graduate programme

The overall aim of the OWL graduate programme is in line with the Comprehensive Employment Strategy 2015-2024 and seeks to provide work sampling opportunities and alternative approaches to work for people with disabilities. This will support them to develop the skills that will lead them to access paid employment in the open labour market. It also supports Civil Service Departments to meet their disability employment quotas of 6% by 2025.

Expressions of interest can be sent to owl@oireachtas.ie

Find out more in our OWL toolkit for public sector organisations at the top of this web page.

Promoting inclusion in employment benefits everyone and creates opportunities for all staff to gain new knowledge and skills.

Employer/department benefits

• Increased employee engagement
• Increased sense of teamwork
• Social responsibility increased
• Increased diversity and improved morale
• Enhanced management experience
• Increased Health and Safety Awareness
• A greater understanding of disability
• Disability proofing of HR and recruitment practices
• A safe space to ask questions
• Additional advice and guidance on workplace supports and accommodations

Employee benefits

• Continuous workplace learning
• Team building skills
• Workplace support, coaching and mentoring
• Increased confidence
• Workplace socialisation
• Support with reasonable accommodations, as required

When employing graduates from the OWL programme it would be expected that the workplace would facilitate employees as part-time permanent staff, following the standard one year probation for all staff.

The OWL programme is an example of supported employment. According to the Irish Association of Supported Employment:

Supported employment is a system designed to support people with disabilities, and other marginalised groups, who want to be part of the workforce, to find and keep a job. At the same time, supported employment helps employers to fill vacancies and build diversity in their workforce by finding the right candidates to meet their individual needs.

The Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 oblige employers to make "reasonable accommodation" for people with disabilities. An employer must take "appropriate measures" to meet the needs of disabled people in the workforce. This means they must make arrangements that will enable a person who has a disability to:

• have equal opportunities when applying for work
• be treated the same as co-workers
• have equal opportunities for promotion
• undertake training

Reasonable accommodation, therefore, refers to modifications which would allow an employee with a disability to either continue or to take up a position to enjoy equal employment opportunities. Sometimes employers worry about the cost of making reasonable accommodations, but often they just require more flexible thinking, simple re-arrangements, or a different way of doing things, such as changing working time and hours, reviewing tasks or retraining. These changes can also benefit everyone in the work environment.

Disability training is available to each department or section head in advance of the placement. The OWL coordinators or the employee's job coach are available on a daily basis to help troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

The job coach supports individuals throughout their journey in employment. Job coaches are responsible for identifying employment opportunities for individuals in line with their career goals and building lasting relationships with employers. Job coaches assess work opportunities in a location to identify suitable tasks, or tasks that an individual could progress to completing. This is called “job carving”. Job coaches support individuals in all aspects of their work life, including office social norms, and will fade out their supports as the individual becomes confident and able to work independently.

Before starting work

The job coach will support initial introductions with the employer and the employee in supported employment. They will work with the employer to identify suitable tasks and duties for the individual- this process is called job carving. After the tasks have been identified and an initial introduction is completed, a start date will be agreed and the job coach will work with the individual to prepare for work (travel training, managing time, having correct work attire).

Depending on the needs of the individual, the job coach may arrange with the employer to meet with the team and discuss any concerns or queries they may have. This can be done informally or as part of a disability awareness workshop, or both. The job coach will also spend some time shadowing the team (if appropriate) to learn the tasks and create any assistive resources or task analyses the employee may need for starting in work.

Starting work

The job coach will attend with the employee on their first day and support any team introductions if required. The job coach will support the learning of new tasks over the initial few days or weeks depending on what is needed and will fade out as appropriate. The job coach is available to members of the team if they have any questions they may like to ask.

In work

Before support has faded out, the job coach will agree with the line manager how often they will check in either by person or over the phone or email. The job coach will also suggest to the employer that they do regular onsite check-ins. The job coach is available via phone and email should there be any major issues. The employee and manager or supervisor will have the contact details for the job coach. The job coach will come back to the workplace if required, such as if the employee needs to learn a new task or if they are struggling with a current task, or other issues that may arise in the workplace.