Des McCabe has spent more than forty years working in employment, training, social inclusion, community development and organisational transformation across the United Kingdom, Ireland and internationally.
Throughout his career, Des has focused on helping individuals, communities and organisations adapt to changing economic realities, create opportunities, develop skills, rebuild confidence and move towards meaningful work, participation and contribution.
His experience spans government advisory work, large-scale employment and training programmes, community development initiatives, peace-building projects, organisational change and workforce transition.
Employment, Skills and Workforce Development
In 1983, Des worked with Community Task Force (CTF) and the UK's Manpower Services Commission on discussions relating to the implementation nationally of the Youth Opportunities Programme (YOP) and Community Enterprise Programme (CEP), two initiatives designed to support unemployed young people and long term unemployed adults.
He subsequently founded The Training & Business Group (TBG) plc, which grew to become one of the United Kingdom’s largest independent training organisations. Operating from fifteen training centres and employing more than 280 staff, TBG helped secure employment opportunities for approximately 5,000 long-term unemployed people each year and supported more than 4,000 individuals annually to achieve vocational qualifications and skills development.
During the privatisation of the UK Government Skillcentre network, TBG acquired the Lambeth/Brixton Skillcentre, which was heavily loss-making and no one wanted! Under new leadership, it was transformed into an innovative and profitable vocational training facility (The Training Factory) focused on employability, practical skills and community regeneration.
Des also provided strategic support to the senior leadership team of FÁS, Ireland’s national Training and Employment Authority, helping modernise elements of its Skillcentre network and strengthen workforce development provision.
Three of his best-known training initiatives included 'Training - What's the Financial Return?', 'Liven Up Your Training' and 'Everlasting Grants' (promoting sustainability in the community sector)
Government Advisory and International Development
Over several decades, Des has advised the British, Irish, United States, Argentine, Romanian and Albanian Governments on matters relating to employment, training, economic development, social inclusion, peace-building and organisational change.
He served as an adviser to both the Irish and United States Governments during the formative stages of the Northern Ireland Peace Process and designed the PeaceBuilder programme in partnership with Senator George Mitchell’s Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation. The programme promoted dialogue, understanding and community engagement between young people from divided communities and international partners.
Des also led the development of the first World Bank Country Assistance Strategy for Albania, helping establish the £100m Training, Enterprise and Employment Fund (TEEF), which supported the country’s transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-based system.
He was formally recognised as one of Europe’s leading job creation entrepreneurs by ‘Europe’s 500’ - the major organisation in Europe for dynamic entrepreneurs.
European Leadership and Community Development
Des is a former Chair of the European Union INTERREG III Border Training Bureau, which focussed on economic development, skills, community cooperation and cross-border partnership.
He established and secured over £400,000 in corporate funding for The Training Trust, an international charity supporting humanitarian and educational initiatives, including projects addressing the needs of children living in Romanian orphanages during the early 1990s.
He also undertook organisational development and inclusion work for Comic Relief-supported projects in Kenya and has worked extensively with communities facing economic disadvantage, social exclusion and structural change.
Inclusion and Community Cohesion
Des founded Diversiton, a not-for-profit organisation established to promote equality, inclusion and respect in workplaces and communities. He was responsible for training all Public Sector staff in Northern Ireland over a three year period in relation to the Religion and Belief provisions of Section 75 of the Employment Equality Act (1998). The half day training programme won the Diversity 21 Award.
Diversiton created and developed the Diversity Calendar, now known as the Inclusion Calendar, which became one of the UK's leading annual diversity and inclusion resources used by employers, educational institutions and public bodies throughout the UK and internationally.
The Department for Work and Pensions supported Diversiton’s initial trainer licensing programme across six UK regions, helping to meet employer needs relating to the Equality Act (2003). Des also served on the UK Government Department for Work and Pensions Equality Schemes Customer Reference Group.
The Development of Work It Out
In response to economic recession, labour market disruption and growing uncertainty about the future of work, Des developed the Work It Out methodology.
Work It Out is a practical, community-based framework that helps individuals build confidence, identify strengths, create opportunities, generate income, develop portfolio careers and support one another through structured peer networks.
The approach was first published by Hay House in the book Work It Out! – How to Find the Work You Always Wanted in a Shifting Jobs Market (2011)
Between 2012 and 2014, Des delivered the ‘Back to Work’ Tour across more than twenty towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland - including Manchester, Bedford, Durham, Motherwell, Belfast, Stroud, Worthing, Coleraine, Barry, Middlesbrough, King's Lynn, Strabane and Peterborough. He engaged directly with thousands of people struggling with unemployment, economic transition and changing labour market conditions.
In Ireland, Diversiton was funded by the Irish Government over a three-year period to deliver Work it Out programmes addressing geographical deprivation, unemployment, community cohesion and the integration of migrant communities in areas experiencing significant social and economic challenges.
He subsequently designed and delivered a range of Work It Out and Next Step programmes supporting individuals at risk of long-term unemployment, exclusion and social isolation, and established pilot WorkCentres that encouraged people to work collaboratively to create opportunities, develop projects, generate income and contribute positively to their communities.
Current Work
Today, Des continues to work internationally with organisations, trainers, consultants and educational providers,
helping them develop, licence and scale training programmes and learning systems. See 'License Your Training Courses' and 'License For Good'.
He is the author of more than twenty published books covering employability, inclusion, personal development, collaboration, leadership, business growth and the changing future of work.
As an international speaker, facilitator and adviser, he continues to advocate practical, community-based approaches that help people adapt to economic change, technological disruption and the realities of an AI-enabled future.
The Work It Out represents the culmination of more than four decades of practical experience helping people, organisations and communities build sustainable futures through collaboration, opportunity creation and mutual support.
Contact Des
His experience spans government advisory work, large-scale employment and training programmes, community development initiatives, peace-building projects, organisational change and workforce transition.
Employment, Skills and Workforce Development
In 1983, Des worked with Community Task Force (CTF) and the UK's Manpower Services Commission on discussions relating to the implementation nationally of the Youth Opportunities Programme (YOP) and Community Enterprise Programme (CEP), two initiatives designed to support unemployed young people and long term unemployed adults.
He subsequently founded The Training & Business Group (TBG) plc, which grew to become one of the United Kingdom’s largest independent training organisations. Operating from fifteen training centres and employing more than 280 staff, TBG helped secure employment opportunities for approximately 5,000 long-term unemployed people each year and supported more than 4,000 individuals annually to achieve vocational qualifications and skills development.
During the privatisation of the UK Government Skillcentre network, TBG acquired the Lambeth/Brixton Skillcentre, which was heavily loss-making and no one wanted! Under new leadership, it was transformed into an innovative and profitable vocational training facility (The Training Factory) focused on employability, practical skills and community regeneration.
Des also provided strategic support to the senior leadership team of FÁS, Ireland’s national Training and Employment Authority, helping modernise elements of its Skillcentre network and strengthen workforce development provision.
Three of his best-known training initiatives included 'Training - What's the Financial Return?', 'Liven Up Your Training' and 'Everlasting Grants' (promoting sustainability in the community sector)
Government Advisory and International Development
Over several decades, Des has advised the British, Irish, United States, Argentine, Romanian and Albanian Governments on matters relating to employment, training, economic development, social inclusion, peace-building and organisational change.
He served as an adviser to both the Irish and United States Governments during the formative stages of the Northern Ireland Peace Process and designed the PeaceBuilder programme in partnership with Senator George Mitchell’s Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation. The programme promoted dialogue, understanding and community engagement between young people from divided communities and international partners.
Des also led the development of the first World Bank Country Assistance Strategy for Albania, helping establish the £100m Training, Enterprise and Employment Fund (TEEF), which supported the country’s transition from a centrally planned economy to a market-based system.
He was formally recognised as one of Europe’s leading job creation entrepreneurs by ‘Europe’s 500’ - the major organisation in Europe for dynamic entrepreneurs.
European Leadership and Community Development
Des is a former Chair of the European Union INTERREG III Border Training Bureau, which focussed on economic development, skills, community cooperation and cross-border partnership.
He established and secured over £400,000 in corporate funding for The Training Trust, an international charity supporting humanitarian and educational initiatives, including projects addressing the needs of children living in Romanian orphanages during the early 1990s.
He also undertook organisational development and inclusion work for Comic Relief-supported projects in Kenya and has worked extensively with communities facing economic disadvantage, social exclusion and structural change.
Inclusion and Community Cohesion
Des founded Diversiton, a not-for-profit organisation established to promote equality, inclusion and respect in workplaces and communities. He was responsible for training all Public Sector staff in Northern Ireland over a three year period in relation to the Religion and Belief provisions of Section 75 of the Employment Equality Act (1998). The half day training programme won the Diversity 21 Award.
Diversiton created and developed the Diversity Calendar, now known as the Inclusion Calendar, which became one of the UK's leading annual diversity and inclusion resources used by employers, educational institutions and public bodies throughout the UK and internationally.
The Department for Work and Pensions supported Diversiton’s initial trainer licensing programme across six UK regions, helping to meet employer needs relating to the Equality Act (2003). Des also served on the UK Government Department for Work and Pensions Equality Schemes Customer Reference Group.
The Development of Work It Out
In response to economic recession, labour market disruption and growing uncertainty about the future of work, Des developed the Work It Out methodology.
Work It Out is a practical, community-based framework that helps individuals build confidence, identify strengths, create opportunities, generate income, develop portfolio careers and support one another through structured peer networks.
The approach was first published by Hay House in the book Work It Out! – How to Find the Work You Always Wanted in a Shifting Jobs Market (2011)
Between 2012 and 2014, Des delivered the ‘Back to Work’ Tour across more than twenty towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland - including Manchester, Bedford, Durham, Motherwell, Belfast, Stroud, Worthing, Coleraine, Barry, Middlesbrough, King's Lynn, Strabane and Peterborough. He engaged directly with thousands of people struggling with unemployment, economic transition and changing labour market conditions.
In Ireland, Diversiton was funded by the Irish Government over a three-year period to deliver Work it Out programmes addressing geographical deprivation, unemployment, community cohesion and the integration of migrant communities in areas experiencing significant social and economic challenges.
He subsequently designed and delivered a range of Work It Out and Next Step programmes supporting individuals at risk of long-term unemployment, exclusion and social isolation, and established pilot WorkCentres that encouraged people to work collaboratively to create opportunities, develop projects, generate income and contribute positively to their communities.
Current Work
Today, Des continues to work internationally with organisations, trainers, consultants and educational providers,
helping them develop, licence and scale training programmes and learning systems. See 'License Your Training Courses' and 'License For Good'.
He is the author of more than twenty published books covering employability, inclusion, personal development, collaboration, leadership, business growth and the changing future of work.
As an international speaker, facilitator and adviser, he continues to advocate practical, community-based approaches that help people adapt to economic change, technological disruption and the realities of an AI-enabled future.
The Work It Out represents the culmination of more than four decades of practical experience helping people, organisations and communities build sustainable futures through collaboration, opportunity creation and mutual support.
Contact Des
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Work it Out! is part of Diversiton and is non-profit making.
Copyright © Diversiton 2003-2026 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyright © Diversiton 2003-2026 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
