Helen Cooke
CEO & Founder
Business, Finance and IT
Helen Cooke is a leading expert in disability and recruitment with a particular expertise in student recruitment. Her vision is to ensure that having a disability or long-term health condition doesn’t prevent anyone from having the career that they want to have.
In 2006 Helen founded MyPlus, a consulting business focussed on helping organisations realise the potential and possibilities of hiring and investing in people with disabilities. She then launched the MyPlus Recruiters’ Club offering specialist training and interactive disability focused events for employers. Members include Barclays, EY, National Grid, BP, Enterprise Holdings and Linklaters.
Wishing to motivate and raise aspirations of young individuals with disabilities Helen also founded the website www.myplusstudentsclub.com, providing them with the support, advice and confidence to find work opportunities, and connect them with employers via the website and through industry focused careers events.
In 2019, Helen launched the MyPlus Universities’ Club offering university staff expert resources to support their students with disabilities as they transition from education into employment. In the same year Helen also launched a Disability Confidence University Toolkit for the International market.
In 2020 Helen was a Commissioner for the Disability Commission, chaired by Lord Kevin Shinkwin and set up by the Centre for Social Justice.
Helen’s unique approach comes from her expertise in HR and Graduate Recruitment, having previously worked for Marks & Spencer and Mars, combined with her first-hand experience of living with a disability; Helen is a wheelchair user as a result of a childhood spinal injury.
Beyond MyPlus, Helen works extensively with individuals with disabilities through The Back Up Trust, an organisation which supports people with spinal cord injuries where she is a Trustee and runs their popular Back Up to Work courses.
“I am often asked why we are called MyPlus and the answer is simple: whilst I don’t believe that disabled people are any more remarkable than those who don’t have a disability, I do believe that having a disability gives you something extra; a ‘plus’. This ‘plus’ results from managing a disability in a world that isn’t always geared up to it whether in terms of accessibility, attitude or understanding. And this ‘plus’ can be an asset to any organisation who looks beyond a person’s disability and sees their talent.”
