At the Skillnet awards event in Waterford were Caroline Tyler, managing director, Irish Centre for Diversity; Louise Barry, HR manager, PREM Hospitality; Tommie Ryan, network manager, Waterford Chamber Skillnet; Helen O’Neill, HR specialist; Siobhan Mellamphy, HR manager at Magna International; and Ashling Ward, network manager, Carlow Kilkenny Chamber Skillnet

Photograph: Patrick Browne

A NEW Skillnet progarmme aims to address the diversity and inclusion skills gap among senior managers in small and medium enterprises. The initiative is designed to equip senior managers with the knowledge and skills required to create more inclusive and diverse workplaces.

Carlow Kilkenny Skillnet, Waterford Chamber Skillnet and Cork Chamber Skillnet, with support from Skillnet Ireland, celebrated the first cohort of companies (22 businesses) to complete a new programme developed in association with the Irish Centre for Diversity (ICD).

This programme was designed by the three Skillnet Business Networks in collaboration with industry across the southeast and southwest regions. It follows research conducted by the Skillnet Networks, which identified a skills and knowledge gap within SMEs in managing diversity and inclusion within their workforce.

The newly developed programme enables businesses to evaluate, develop and measure their organisations’ efforts in diversity and inclusion using the ICD Investors in Diversity framework. The programme upskills senior managers within SMEs and assists them in creating policies and procedures that prioritise diversity and inclusion as a fundamental company value. It also helps businesses to develop and implement suitable policies to meet the programme’s standards, with the goal of achieving a Diversity and Inclusion Bronze Award.