Disabilities Task Force

Recommendations to New York State for strategies to increase access

5. Career Development and Full Employment Opportunity

Discussion

In this increasingly competitive global economy, no state can afford to squander talent or energy. However, there appears to be a gulf between employers and individuals with disabilities. Companies do not, as a matter of course, consider individuals with disabilities when recruiting and hiring. Furthermore, evidence suggests that employers do not typically know how to accommodate a disability and so they shy away from active recruitment. Colleges and universities could be a powerful force for change in this regard.

Students with disabilities often do not have full access to out-of-classroom programming, so they have not been able to take advantage of the full range of job and career preparation programs. As a result, they may not be as ready to make the transition from their college or university program to work. Part of the problem is that too often disability services coordinators are given the job of providing all counseling services to students with disabilities, including career counseling, even though they may not have ready access to the same resources as the regular career counseling office. A much more concerted effort must be made to integrate services to students with disabilities into the routine work of colleges and universities, including college and university career counseling programs.

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