As employers across the globe look to expand their recruiting practices, many are missing an opportunity right in front of them: the disabled community. Within hiring practices, there is an untapped potential with a record number of people quitting their jobs, leaving many companies in a lurch to fill those roles: the disability community. At a time when employers are looking for talent, career services staff can connect to the disability services office to find untapped talent and build better campus relationships.
Unemployment rate in 2020 for those with a disability was at 12.6percent, the highest mark in seven years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). For higher education institutions, the most recent data from 2016 found that 20percent of undergraduates reported having a disability and more than 90percent of all colleges enroll students with a disability. This means that a significant portion of college students have a form of disability whether visible or otherwise. By connecting with disability services, the career services office can become advocates for those in the disability community to find them meaningful work.
Take a note out of global accounting firm Ernest & Young which has expanded its recruiting and interviews processes to include hiring those on the Autism spectrum for roles in artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and cybersecurity. Additionally, career services staff should begin partnering with local disability community to know how to best mange your offices to be inclusive. For those on the Autism spectrum, as highlighted in a recent CBS 60 Minutes segment, their immense attention to detail and analytical skills are a huge benefit to companies looking for employers to look at things in a different way and identify more efficient workflows for companies. Be sure that your employment and student outreach is inclusive of those who are disabled, if you don’t you could be loosing out on valuable talent. As Brian Evans told Anderson Cooper, “For me, having a job is important because it provides me with much-needed structure in my life.”
In order to provide a holistic support to the disabled community, campus partners should connect in order to ensure all students are supported. Designed to support an institution-wide approach to student success, Symplicity One breaks down the departmental silos that are often the barriers to offering a fully holistic student experience. Symplicity One brings together Symplicity’s standout products for career services, student conduct, and disability services offices that have supported student services for more than 20 years—and other technology providers in business intelligence (BI), student information systems (SIS,) and analytics—all under one integrated platform.
For more information about virtualizing student services, email info@symplicity.com or schedule a conversation.
