A report has been produced which will guide the Association’s work to ensure it is accessible to all team members and customers.

Ryan said: “As a student of Housing Studies I have a real passion for the sector and in particular how inclusion and innovation can help improve people’s lives. My time at Clyde Valley has been so rewarding and has given me front-line experience as context to my studies.

“I had responded to the internship vacancy posted by Inclusion Scotland last December and started in January of this year. I was welcomed by all the team and my main output has been to create a report to help Clyde Valley become a more diverse and inclusive workplace which is able to serve all customers irrespective of their characteristics and circumstances.

“From day one I encountered a real openness from all my colleagues and there was determination that Clyde Valley’s processes should encourage a respect for all protected characteristics including race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and age.

“As a sector there are really good examples of this inclusive approach working well and I looked at existing initiatives within Clyde Valley and other housing associations to learn from best practice. Everybody here has been so helpful in working with me to produce the report and the team has been so open to the recommendations which are contained within it.

“Themes include publishing equality impact assessments on the website; making sure that the requirements for jobs are essential, for example whether a driving licence is actually required considering many disabled people are excluded from driving. Working with other partners and programmes is also key, for example engaging with the Paths Scotland initiative for ethnic diversity in the Housing sector.

“One of my main focuses has been building on what has already been achieved by collecting additional equality data among staff as well as customers to create a meaningful benchmark. This is essential so Clyde Valley can move towards becoming accredited for quality schemes such as the Disability Confident Leadership programme. Working with the customer contact team and understanding how we cater for our customers has been an essential facet of this work.

“I’ve felt really supported here and the staff has been brilliant. Working within a housing association has really strengthened my passion for the sector and my belief that it has the potential to change lives.”

Jenny Carlyle, senior OD people partner, added: “Ryan had a huge impact during his short time at Clyde Valley and we’re now excited to implement the recommendations from his report as part of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy. Not only have we received some excellent recommendations from his work, but Ryan himself was a pleasure to work with and very quickly gained respect and appreciation from our teams.

“The partnership with Inclusion Scotland was very successful and they supported ourselves and Ryan throughout the placement. We are pleased that we had the opportunity to provide Ryan with an introduction to the sector and know that he will go far in his career.”