What Higher Education Could Be Doing To Help Students With Disabilities Find Employment

The Problem?

Employment rate for college graduates:

Without disabilities: 89.9%          With disabilities: 50.6%

These disabled college graduates are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to finding employment after graduation.

Why Is This Happening?

Scholars have different explanations for this issue, such as the bias of employers and the basic inability of disabled individuals to perform many jobs.

There is truth to both of these reasons, however the blame cannot be placed on any one alone. The overlying problem is that of neoliberal austerity politics and capitalism.

What is that?

The goal is to reduce government budget debt...

"Neoliberal fiscal austerity policies decrease public expenditure through cuts to central and local government budgets, welfare services and benefits and privatization of public resources resulting in job losses." 

Taxes Increase

↓

Household Income Decreases

↓

People spend less money, and businesses consume less profit

↓

Businesses have to fire workers when they cannot afford to pay them

*** When able-bodied workers have a hard time finding jobs, it is even worse of an issue for many with disabilities.***

During the Great Recession, lasting from December 2007 to September 2009, unemployment rates across America were at a high, and those rates for the disabled were even higher than they were for the able-bodied.

What Can Be Done?

Higher education could be doing more to help their graduates with disabilities find employment.

One Solution: Universities can connect disabled students with businesses that they know are very open to hiring and working with disabled employees.

- Universities would first have to reach out and make connections with businesses. They will find employers who are open to working with employees and their disabilities, as it is known some are not as willing as others.

-This method would not guarantee a job to every student with a disability, but could help get many of them connected in the work force of their community and set many up with interviews with employers who are accommodating. However, the employer will still have all the say in whether they want to hire the individual based on all of their attributes.

-This method would help graduates with disabilities in finding work places that will accommodate to them and their needs. When more disabled students are graduating from college with connections to potential places they could succeed in working at, a smaller percentage of students will continue to be unemployed after earning their degree.

How Do We Know This Will Work?

1. Employers will be intentional in hiring persons with disabilities
2. Less time spent job-searching after graduation
3. Jobs will have a higher rate to succeed because the job will be something the disabled knows they can do and that the employers expects them to succeed in.

Sources Cited:

Fogg, Neeta P., Paul E. Harrington, and Brian T. McMahon. "The Impact of the Great Recession upon the Unemployment of Americans with Disabilities."Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation (2010): 193-202. Web.