Leadership Academy Programme

The Leadership Academy Programme (LAP) was developed because a group of Disabled senior leaders found that, whilst Disabled employees were managing to gain employment, their ability to excel up the corporate ladder appeared limited. 

LAP aims to:

• Address the need for greater equality in the workplace;
• Improve the employment position of Disabled people, enabling them to fulfil their potential;
• Provide employers with access to the widest possible pool of talent at management and senior level;
• Increase the visibility of capable, confident disabled leaders, to contribute to a more balanced view of Disabled people across UK society;
• Build recognition of the qualities Disabled people contribute in terms of resilience, problem-solving, empathy and creativity;
• Impact workplace culture and help to bring about genuine inclusivity for Disabled employees.

Programme Delivery

The 2024 course, which started in February, comprises 13 sessions (of 2-4 hours) plus a graduation ceremony in September.

LAP is now delivered online. The benefits include providing a modular format to encourage sustainable growth for LAP and being able to provide tailored options for employers. Participants can access the programme flexibly, without travel barriers

The Programme options 

Option 1 – Main cohort: Employers can sponsor an individual employee(s) onto the main cohort. This is a mixed cohort, where our partnering organisations such as The Ministry of Justice, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Care Quality Commission, and many others annually send employees onto the programme.

These delegates return to their place of work, with increased confidence and leadership skills and this ultimately impacts their working practices and culture of the business/ organisation, ensuring greater inclusivity for disabled employees.

The combination of the learning and discussions with other participants really helped me and provided me with tools to improve and think about leadership differently. (Delegate 2021 cohort)

Option 2 – Bespoke programme: We can design a bespoke programme, tailor-made to meet the needs and aims of the organisation. Employers can place 10 or more staff, into a private cohort and we’ll help to manage all the administration, mentoring relationships, and programme schedules, affording the delegates the best possible opportunity to succeed and for the greatest impact on the business/organisation.

The Programme includes:

• Career aspirations, setting objectives and goals
• Communication, leadership and management skills
• Self-development and confidence-building
• Accessibility, reasonable adjustments and your rights as a Disabled employee
• Applying new techniques to live projects and presentations related to a current workplace challenge (providing a great resource for their place of work)
• One-to-one mentoring from an experienced senior leader
• Sharing experiences with other aspiring managers and learning from their success strategies
• Conflict resolution and managing relationships • Creation of an ‘Inclusive Leadership Charter’
• Membership of our Disability Alumni Network, offering exceptional networking events with inspirational keynote speakers

We’re starting our recruitment drive again!

This year, due to the programme's popularity, we were oversubscribed, and we are likely to be in the same position for our 2025 cohort which will start in February next year. As a result, places are offered on a first come first served basis, so please apply early, by requesting an application form. An expression of interest is also accepted.

Share the information with your line manager, L&D Team, or Disability Network, to explore ways to get sponsored onto the programme by your employer. You can self-fund (please enquire about discounts available if you are thinking of taking this route).

Even is you are not able to undertake this programme yourself, please share this information with your workplace and within your networks, so that other Disabled employees may have the opportunity to attend the course. To request an application form, email our LAP Project Manager Katrina Morris on: katrina.morris@disabilityrightsuk.org