National Disability Employment Awareness Month: Where to Turn
“Despite the progress, the harsh reality is that people just really still experience discrimination and one of the toughest challenges we still need to tackle is the persistently low employment rates among Americans with disabilities.” –Senator Tom Harkin, Iowa
October, as many of you may or may not know is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). It is a month for those with disability to become empowered by awareness whether employed or seeking employment. That empowerment is a direct result of awareness of your talents, your rights, and your knowledge of opportunities available to you. There are many opportunities for persons with disabilities to make their mark on the world and also many opportunities and benefits to employers who, when they hire persons with disabilities, reap the benefits of having incredibly flexible, innovative, determined and dedicated employees on their payroll.
We’ve found a veritable treasure trove of information online that goes a great distance in raising awareness and providing advice and assistance to employers and those seeking employment.
The links below can help you find information such as:
- Resources exclusively available to persons with disabilities
- Your rights as a disabled individual and how to exercise them
- Disability friendly employers
- How to market your abilities and strengths to potential employers
Resources and Description:
www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com – Is a partnership of health and human service/employment agencies whose goal it is to raise awareness that hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense through their website and by other means.
-- If you know an HR director or business owner, send them a link to this website.www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org – Is the website for the National Disability Employment campaign, with many resources for employers, prospective employees, entrepreneurs, and for raising the awareness of those unaware. Send a link to someone you care about.
www.disaboomjobs.com - Job board with disability exclusive job posts, similar to Monster in that you can post your resume for review of several employers.
www.jobaccess.org - Job board created by ABILITY magazine, with exclusive job posts for those with disabilities. Also, it has a section for employers as well as employees.
golearn.gov/HiringReform - Federal Office of Personnel Management’s training slideshows for Schedule “A” hiring. Great resource for employers on the benefits of hiring disabled individuals.
www.disability.gov/employment - Government resource for individuals with disability on career searching and planning.
www.disability-resource.com/employment - Website made for and by disabled individuals. This link is to a lis
10/13/2011
