EPO partners with myAbility Talent Programme for second year running
In partnership with the myAbility Talent Programme, this year's job shadowing day took place at the European Patent Office (EPO) on Tuesday 17 November. The Office has participated in the programme since its introduction in Munich in 2019, along with other major players in the city such as Generali, Microsoft, Munich Re, Siemens and Swiss Re.
Like last year, when recent graduates with disabilities successfully shadowed our examiners, the shadowing day followed a series of events to match talents to leading Munich employers. This year, the Office welcomed five high-achieving candidates to learn about working in IT, facility management and H&S, conflict resolution, communication and finance respectively.
To kick off the day, Vice President for Corporate Services Nellie Simon addressed the talents, the organisers in the EPO Talent Academy and the representatives of the business units involved: "We are very proud to be co-operating with myAbility Talent Programme for the second year running. Here at the EPO, we are continually looking to broaden our talent pool. This programme is crucial in helping all of us here today share new work experiences and discover new synergies."
Though talents participated remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recent advances in the EPO's overall digital connectivity enabled closer involvement of our other offices outside Munich, including The Hague office. The project also provided an opportunity for the EPO to network with other companies on disability inclusion.
The myAbility Talent Programme was established by myAbility Social Enterprise in Vienna in 2015 and has since expanded to Germany and Switzerland. It seeks to achieve the same rate of employment among people with disabilities as those without disabilities throughout Europe.
Further information:
- myAbility Talent Programme (German), also profiled on the Zero Project platform (English)