Summary
Pathways Academy continues to go from strength to strength with 15 students starting access and inclusive design training in the September 2024 course intake.
Pathways Academy continues to have success with its mission to train access experts of the future with 15 disabled students currently on the programme.
The programme is the Centre for Accessible Environments’ (CAE) award winning training created in 2020 to give disabled people in London the confidence, skills and support needed to kick start a career in inclusive design and access.
Since the start of the programme – which is funded by City Bridge Foundation – over 70% of the disabled students who completed the course are working in inclusion and access-related roles with five working with CAE as associates.
Past students work with CAE
One of those associates, Katy McLeod (below, right) completed Pathways and initially juggled her role as an Associate Producer at Cast (a theatre in Doncaster) with freelance producing roles and access-related work.
Pathways Academy graduate Katy McLeod
She said: “I didn’t expect to be working for CAE,” she said. “It’s been a career highlight. Many organisations just invest in a community through providing training, whereas CAE go that extra step: they deliver on their ethos and passion on supporting disabled people to work in access related roles.”
Katy added: “Pathways Academy training has led me to more opportunities in more ways than I can count… Opportunities like this don’t come around often – so to anyone considering applying, I’d say, pursue it while it’s still available.”
She is now working towards becoming an NRAC registered Disability Access Consultant, full time, developing a specialism in historic buildings, websites and apps.
Barriers to employment
Fara Muneer, CAE’s Head of Business Development, said: “Disabled people face several complex barriers to employment. Pathways can help trainees overcome those barriers by giving them the technical knowledge to develop a career in access and inclusive design. The programme is a great success and we hope to build on that in the coming years.”
On the course, trainees receive 22 days of training over nine months, covering a different topic each month including the principles of inclusive design, design and neurodiversity, accessible housing and accessibility and historic environments. Trainees also develop communications skills, such as presentation and reports writing skills, to help them use their new technical knowledge.
Nine Pathways Academy students sit around two wooden tables in a classroom setting as they are taught by trainers Caroline and Vin.
Apply for 2025 intake
If you’re a disabled person living in London, interested in pursuing a career in access and inclusion, find out more about Pathways Academy at cae.org.uk/pathways-academy/ and register your interest now for our 2025 intake by completing the application form.