A new publication called Disability in the Workplace has been released by a special interest company called Raconteur out of the United Kingdom. You can read a copy online here.
We learned about this publication through social media from our friends at Champions Career Centre. It discusses the attitude towards disabled people in the working world. Attitudes are changing for the better but there are still barriers to overcome, for both employers and persons with disabilities.
The writer was optimistic about the shift of attitudes of employers regarding hiring persons with disabilities. Some of the misconceptions about having disabled staff are starting to disappear. It is key for employers to always strive to get the best person for the job. If the best person has disabilities and need extra support, employers are beginning to understand how easy it is to provide that support.
“The key is not to recruit disabled people for the sake of recruiting them, but to recruit disabled people who can do the job.”
It doesn’t matter what kind of package talent comes in. Employers who are not willing to consider people with disabilities are really failing to exploit a pool of under-used talent. In the article, employers are encouraged to be more adventurous in their hiring!
“The business case for embracing diversity means you have to access talent that others may overlook and you retain talent you might otherwise lose.”
Here are some statistics that were published in this article:
6.6% of adults with learning disabilities reported to be in some form of paid employment in 2010-11 (UK).
85% of staff feel their employers could do more to create employment and career progression for disabled people.
52% of people would automatically assume a disability is physical rather than mental
