A Manchester disability awareness training provider has partnered with Carrs Pasties to help staff understand the challenges faced by people with disabilities.
Learn with ESS delivers interactive workshops using specialist equipment like blackout eye masks, ear defenders, and wheelchairs to stimulate the experiences of people with disabilities.
The partnership was formed through a mentor program run by the Business Growth Hub, connecting Carrs Pasties' Gavin Astley with Learn with ESS' Azeem Amir. The successful and innovative leadership and mentoring programme, iMentor, matches SME leaders with an experienced professional to help them through their challenges, helping them develop, change, and grow their business. The programme has recruited and engaged more than 700 mentors from SMEs and corporations and helped develop 1,100 senior business leaders.
This collaboration has provided Azeem with valuable mentorship and guidance as he works to "change how society offers a helping hand."
Azeem Amir, founder of Learn with ESS, said, "The partnership with Carrs Pasties has significantly changed our organisation's dynamic and direction. Our goal is to give everyone at Carrs an experience that will deepen their understanding of the daily lives of people with disabilities and how they can better support them."
Azeem, who was born with a visual impairment and is a member of the England Blind Football Team, said, "I've faced many challenges explaining the nuances of my life to others. Despite describing the positives, negatives, and unique challenges, the gap in understanding persists for those who haven't experienced it firsthand. To bridge this divide, I created workshops that immerse society in the experiences of people with disabilities. I want participants to not only reconsider their attitudes but also to reflect on their own feelings and the support they needed during the experience.”
The workshops aim to shed light on both visible and invisible disabilities, such as visual, hearing, physical impairments, dyslexia, dyspraxia, learning difficulties, autism, ADHD, and more. Through these initiatives, Learn with ESS aims to foster a more inclusive dialogue about diverse abilities and challenges in society. The workshops enabled the team at Carrs Pasties to experience the full journey of a person with a disability entering a store, requesting assistance, purchasing an item, leaving the store, and all the other aspects involved of visiting Carrs Pasties.
Gavin Astley, Head of Operations at Carrs Pasties, said, "The far-reaching effects of Learn with ESS on our business ripple out to suppliers and other businesses we support, spreading across everything. It’s been a pleasure to get to know Azeem and the Learn with ESS team, and we can’t wait to continue to roll out the workshops to the rest of the Carrs Pasties team.”
The workshop format serves as a platform for discussing issues that might otherwise be uncomfortable. By bringing in specialists with different lived experiences, we enhance understanding and foster comfort with these topics. Learn with ESS aims to develop three skills in particular: communication, empathy, and gratitude. Through practical engagement, participants can experience these concepts and an emotional connection.
Azeem said, "I'm passionate about expanding my team and giving ordinary people with extraordinary stories a platform. The Learn with ESS role models all have such amazing and powerful stories, without them the scale of impact we hope to make wouldn’t be possible."
Carrs Pasties aim for all staff to have completed the training by the end of 2025.
“Relationships like Gavin and Azeem’s show the real value of mentoring – through these connections real change can happen. What Gavin and Azeem have achieved is incredible and GM Business Growth Hub is proud to have played even a small part in it.
“Mentoring, as mentor or mentee is an often-overlooked aspect of personal and business growth. We hope that the success of Carrs Pasties and Learn with ESS can inspire more people to consider mentoring as an opportunity for them”. Matt Richardson. Head of Leadership, Skills and Social Value”
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