Julius Baer is making a positive impact to the Guernsey community with its alignment to Guernsey Employment Trust’s charter, underpinning its commitment in a practical and fruitful way.
Julius Baer signed-up to the Guernsey Employment Trust’s (GET) Employers’ Disability Charter in 2019.
The Guernsey Employment Trust provides support for disabled and disadvantaged people in Guernsey to prepare for, find, and maintain paid employment in a diverse range of sectors in the island’s job market.
Coordinated by staff member Amal Eltasse-Pipet, Julius Baer has employed four people across the business to assist with data analysis, inputting and various administrative tasks. The wealth management group has also provided a reconditioned laptop and training for one of the people that GET is currently supporting through some retraining.
William Banfield is one of those working for Julius Baer as part of the scheme. William’s support worker has said that William loves his morning each week with Julius Baer.
Tania Gouveia, Employment Support Officer at the Guernsey Employment Trust, explained to Channel Eye: “Amal went above and beyond to provide our client with an opportunity to have the equipment and training to help them achieve their goal of working in an office.
“William genuinely loves going into work at Julius Baer and when he was unable to work over lockdown, he kept asking when he could go back. Amal took time to get to know William before he started so she had a good idea of his skills and personal interests. She knew he was an avid Formula 1 fan. On his first day, there was a Formula 1 mug with his name on it. This small gesture instantly helped him settle and build connections within the team.”
Elaine Strappini, Employment Development Manager at the Guernsey Employment Trust, added: “Julius Baer is a great example of an employer who values inclusion across all levels of the business. Amal has always looked at our clients’ strengths and helped match opportunities that suit their individual skillset.
“We’re yet to fully understand the long-term effects of Covid-19. The demand for our service has grown and the job market has become more competitive, which could potentially broaden the disability employment gap. This is why partnerships such as this are more important than ever. We need the community to work together to help reduce the disability employment gap and create more social and economic equality for disabled and disadvantaged people.”
Becoming chartered with GET is a series of commitments ranging from interviewing anyone with the minimum specifications, to advertising any openings through GET as well as the usual routes. More information about the charter can be found here.
Karen Martin, Director of Human Resources at Julius Baer in Guernsey, said: “Committing to the actions set out in the charter has got our colleagues proactively thinking about what people can achieve – and starts to unwind conscious and unconscious bias. People bring different skills and focuses to the workforce, no matter their background, and this scheme proves that.
“We highly recommend other businesses consider signing up to the charter and commit to providing equal opportunities to all islanders. It’s a tremendously rewarding programme.”
Main picture shows Stephen Burt, William Banfield and Tania Gouveia.
