Jamie Regan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, has worked in the disability sector and not-for-profit sector in Ireland for over 10 years. Originally from Australia, he is a Certified Practicing Accountant with extensive experience in marketing, training and business development. Over the last six years Jamie completed a Masters in Education with Worcester University, UK specialising in Inclusion of people with disabilities.
Through his research Jamie became very interested in the Social Enterprise model and believed it could provide the framework for tackling unemployment for people with disabilities from a new innovative perspective.
In July this year, he was awarded an Arthur Guinness Award and was granted membership to Social Enterpeneurs Ireland for his innovative approach to tackling the unemployment of people with disabilities.
Whilst the term ‘Innovative’ is very complimentary, Jamie maintains that the Hand on Heart model is in many ways the combination of some simple ideas, that being;
1. Emphasis ’team development’ so that we focus on how the abilities of people with disabilities can be collectively strengthened and get a hundred miles away from this focus on a persons disability.
2. Create work environments that are truly inclusive from the start for everyone. Health and Safety is often used as an excuse or a reason why a work environment is not suitable for a person with a disability to perform a job. With a bit of imagination and innovation, work environments can be simply developed in the first instance to be inclusive for everyone rather then trying to adapt the work environment later.
3. Use Social Responsibility as a marketing strategy. People will buy goods and services from Hand on Heart Enterprises over our competitors, because they know that through their purchase, people with disabilities are being employed.
4. Dont stop at just jobs, develop leadership !!! Hand on Heart Enterprises strives to give people with disabilities the opportunity to manage teams of people.
5. And most importantly, develop jobs that people really want to do.
“From the research I undertook with people with disabilities, the overwhelming jobs that are ‘out of reach’ are those in the hospitality industry. For many people with disabilities, particularly those people that use wheel chairs, the thought of working in a bar or coffee shop, pouring a pint or making a coffee, is only a dream. Hospitality and catering, through our Inclusion Bar, Vendability and catering enterprise are the first of many innovative business enterprises that start to create exciting and rewarding employment opportunities.”
Jamie Regan, B.Bus., CPA, MA (Ed)
The Arthur Guinness Award recognised the innovation of the Hand on Heart Enterprise which comprised the 5 key elements;