Transcript Demand Side Employment for People with Disabilities

Demand-Side
Employment for People
with Disabilities
Fong Chan, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin- Madison
May 13, 2009
Demand-Side Employment

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A recent National Organization on Disability report (2007)
indicated that only 35% of working-age people with chronic
illness and disability are employed comparing to 78% of those
without disabilities.
Two-thirds of the unemployed persons with chronic illness and
disability indicated that they would like to work but could not find
jobs.
Employment rates for people with disabilities has been hovering
around 35% in the past two decades, even during the robust
economy of the 1990s.
Rehabilitation rates for people with disabilities after receiving
state vocational rehabilitation services are about 60% varying by
disability types.
2
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Demand-Side Employment
Research

There seems to be a limit to what the supply-side
employment and job placement model can achieve.

The supply-side approach ignores variables related to
employer demand (and the interaction of employer
demand/supply and the environment) as predictors of
employment outcomes for people with chronic illness
and disability.
3
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Demand-Side Employment
Research
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Demand-Side Employment
Research
5
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Demand-Side Employment
Research
Employment and Disability--1997
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Severe
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Not Severe
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No Disability
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0
Wheelchair
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Cane,
Crutches,
Walker
Difficulty
Seeing
Difficulty
Hearing
Difficulty w/
Speech
Difficulty
Walking
Difficulty w/
Stairs
Difficulty
Lifting
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Demand-Side Employment
Research
7
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Employment Rates of People
with Disabilities- Netherland
8
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment

The focus of demand-side employment models is on
the employer and work environment (i.e., occupational
shifts and industrial change).
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Demand-driven employment strategies must
emphasize the preparation of persons with disabilities
for jobs that employers need to fill.

Rehabilitation counseling professionals must have a
thorough understanding of the real concerns of
employers about hiring persons with disabilities and be
able to address their concerns and needs.
9
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment

The focus of demand-side employment models is on
job placement of people with all types of disabilities
and all levels of severity and not just people with
significant disabilities.

The focus of demand-side employment is participation
of people with disabilities in occupations representing
all levels of complexity from unskilled occupations to
professional/technical and managerial occupations.
10
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment
Research Questions
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Does [Wisconsin] have enough workers today?
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Will there be enough workers in the future?
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Do these workers have the skills our businesses are
demanding?
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What kind of jobs are in demand?
11
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment
Research Questions
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In the event of a skills gap, what are the reasons for the
gap and what are the implications?
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What could be done about the skills gap?
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What are employers’ perceptions about people with
disabilities as skilled and productive workers who can be
a solution to this skills gap?
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How can we, as rehabilitation counselors, help increase
the “comfort” level of employers toward hiring and
retaining people with disabilities in demand occupations?
(Gilbride & Stensrud, 1992).
12
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Globalization
13
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Demand-Side Employment
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Employment demand is changing and projected to shift due to
fundamental structural economic changes.
What and where lie the greatest and growing areas of
employment opportunities.
What do these changes imply in terms of skill requirements.
Labor demand must be a key driver of skill development.
The changing demographic makeup in the American work
force will translate into dramatic changes in hiring and work
environment structuring. Employers will increasingly have to
recruit and accommodate people from the non-traditional
labor pool including minorities and people with disabilities just
to meet their labor needs.
14
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Demand-Side Employment
Analysis

Drivers of Labor Market Change:
 Globalization of markets
 Technological change
 Changing customer-driven demands
 Changing patterns of trade
 Changing demographic trends
 Public policy
 Changing skill requirements and requisite job tasks
within occupations
15
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment
Analysis
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Demographic makeup is changing (e.g., the ageing
workforce).
Structural unemployment may be edging higher in
certain countries.
Occupational employment changes vary geographically
(e.g., the U.S. has been losing manufacturing jobs and
gaining in services and information technology jobs).
Employment growth in small businesses—lower wages,
higher layoff rates, requiring multiple skills and flexibility.
Organizational structure is changing—flatter and more
team-based.
16
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment
Analysis
Components of employment—companies are changing and
the use of the following three main interacting
components of employment may increasingly become
more common:
1. A core workforce of full-time full-year workers within
organizations;
2. A group of skilled, self-employed and professional workers
who work mainly on a contract or project basis either
chiefly for one organization or a number of different ones;
and
3. A peripheral or contingent group of workers who are
involved in part-time, temporary or seasonal work, and
who often are low-skilled.
17
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment
Analysis
Describing and Quantifying Future Occupational
Demand—need to focus research efforts to
gather information even more directly upon the
demand side in terms of employer needs, their
hiring decisions, and their workplace training
decisions.
18
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Models for People with Disabilities

Focus on the employer and work environment (i.e.,
occupational shifts and industrial change).
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Emphasize the preparation of persons with chronic
illness and disability for jobs that employers need to fill
(i.e., demand occupations).
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Provide consulting and training to employers on how to
better recruit, accommodate, support, and integrate
workers with disabilities.
19
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (Gilbride & Stensrud, 1992)
1. Increase Demand
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Identify jobs employers have difficulty filling
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Evaluate essential functions, perform cost/benefit analyses on
levels of accommodations and task restructuring
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Assist employers in developing a recruitment plan and/or training
program
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Inform public rehabilitation agencies on current and future labor
requirements of local business
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Collaborate with employers, public rehabilitation, and training
institutions to provide skills training for persons with disabilities
20
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
2. Consultation
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Consultation approach, not selling clients
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RCs offer employers expertise in helping employers to solve their
human resources needs.
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Rehabilitating workplace, not rehabilitating clients
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Function as organization development and human resource
development consultant
21
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
3. Employer Needs Focus
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Speak the language of business
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Understand the real concerns of employers and be able to speak
to their needs
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Understand and know how to help employers get work done
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Help employers view people with disabilities as resources to get
work done
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Must match people with disabilities carefully for the job
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Match employers with “qualified” and competent workers with
disabilities
22
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
4. Job Focused
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Increase the number and range of jobs that people with various
functional limitations can perform within a specific organization
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Work with employers to identify jobs they need to fill, develop
accommodation strategies, and then find applicants.
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Network with rehabilitation agencies (e.g., public rehabilitation
agencies, vocational-technical schools, private job placement
firms, etc.) to have a pool of people with specific capacities and
characteristics ready to fill the available positions
23
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
5. Private Funding

Consultation services provided by RCs should be paid
by employers
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Public rehabilitation agencies will be part of the
solution (e.g., paying for the training costs) and not all
of the solution
24
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
6. Consultation is Ongoing
Work with employers and employees to provide on-going
OD/HRD consultations so that employees with
disabilities can progress from entry-level positions to
higher level positions.
25
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
6. A Business Approach
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Provide quality services to meet the high expectations
of employers
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Do the best person-job match analysis
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Find people with disabilities who can do the job
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Help employers with their bottom line—i.e., to make a
profit
26
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Job Placement
Model (cont.)
7. Middle Managers and Line Supervisors Focus
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View middle managers and line supervisors as the
most important customers to help them solve day-today problems and to get work done efficiently.
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Make sure that middle managers, line supervisors,
and co-workers consulted, involved, educated, and
supported to reduce stress and increase “comfort”
level of working with people with disabilities
27
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment –
Critical Issues
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Changing structure of the workforce and the impact of
downsizing.
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Increasing use of on-call workers, temporary help
agencies, and independent contractors.
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Rapid advances in technology requiring the need for
highly educated, highly skilled workers.
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Employer perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes regarding
the employment of individuals with disabilities.
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Employer knowledge and use of incentives for hiring
individuals with disabilities.
28
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Demand-Side Employment –
Critical Issues

The effect of labor market demand policies and
economic factors on employment outcomes for
individuals with disabilities
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Employer-based hiring practices that influence
employment outcomes and employer understanding of
the implications of employment practices for individuals
with disabilities

Predictors of return to work and workforce participation.
29
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Meta-Analysis of Employment
Skills and Abilities Employers
Demand
30
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Mental ability. Many employers are interested in how well a job
applicant can perform mental operations. Mental ability can be
categorized into general mental ability, applied mental skills, and
creativity. General mental ability is related to the overall ability to
learn and process information. Measures of general mental
ability have found to be related to performance across a range of
jobs (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). Applied mental skills refer to the
application of mental ability (e.g., judgment, decision making,
problem solving, and planning) to solve organizational issues in
real-world contexts. Creativity is defined as flexibility of thought,
originality, and the ability to see beyond current structures and
operations (Cohen & Swerdlik, 1999).
 Creativity  Job performance (r = .58)
 Applied mental skills  Job performance (r = .28)
 General mental ability  Job performance (r = .24)
31
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Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Knowledge and skills.
Knowledge and skills are related to information already stored in longterm memory. Direct measures of job knowledge and skills have
been found to predict job performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998)

32
Knowledge and skills  Job performance (r = .42)
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Basic personality tendencies.
Huffcutt et al. (2001) found a growing preference to measure
personality traits using the “Big Five” personality dimensions:
Extroversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness (basic desire
to be liked by and to fit in with other people), Openness to
experience, and Emotional stability.
 Agreeableness  Job performance (r = .51)
33
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Applied social skills.
The ability to function effectively in social situations may be
influenced by both the underlying personality structure and the
acquired competencies. Specific applied social skills typically
evaluated in employment interviews include: oral communication
skills, interpersonal skills, leadership, and persuasiveness.
 Applied social skills Job performance (r = .39)
34
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Interests and preferences.
Interests and preferences in the context of employment interviews
has been defined as “the verbal profession of interest in an
object, activity, task, or occupation” (Super, 1949, p. 377).
 Interests and preferences Job performance (r = .24)
35
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Organizational fit.
Each organization has its own unique culture or climate, defined by
characteristics such as values, goals, norms, and attitudes. The
closer that the values and attitudes of an individual correspond
to those of the organization, the better the fit between them.
 Organizational fit  Job performance (r = .49)
36
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Taxonomy of Psychological
Constructs
Physical appearance.
Physical attributes. Employers generally assess physical
characteristics such as health, appearance, attractiveness and
job-related characteristics such as physical ability, stamina and
agility.
37
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Employers’ Perceptions of
People with Chronic Illness
and Disability in the Workplace
38
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Focus Group Studies
Funded by SPR, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA
39
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Focus Group Participants
40
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Results
1. Productivity Issues
2. Barrier Issues
3. Strategies for Improving Hiring
41
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Benefits
Employers identified the following benefits of Hiring
individuals with disabilities (Front-line hiring and Clevel):
 Individual/Personal Attributes
 Dedication and loyalty
 Appreciation (of opportunity)
 Dependability/reliability
 Work ethics
 More satisfied with the pay scale
 Organizational Factors
42
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Benefits
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Informal educator/ambassador to educating others in
the organization
Helping employees feel comfortable interacting with
people with disabilities
Low turnover
Less prone to litigate
Fill the gap of reduced talent pool, especially in the
area of IT
Making the organization a more inclusive working
environment
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Productivity Concerns
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Low productivity (quantity)
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High error rate (quality)
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Lack of experience (tend to hire people with experience)
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Lack of supply of qualified personnel
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Lack of time to train
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May need special treatment
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People with disabilities may need more training, more
supervision, more special needs; can create resentment
among co-workers and affect morale.
44
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Productivity Concerns
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Lower skill sets (technical and applied social skills)
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Reduced physical stamina
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People with disabilities are slow learners
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May need more supervision
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Perception that employers need to lower standards
45
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Attitudinal-Based Concerns
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Other employees would be fearful of individuals with
disabilities
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Close-mindedness of other employees
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Lack of acceptance
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Cannot see through disability
46
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employer Concerns
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Don’t know how to interview individuals with disabilities
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Lack of knowledge regarding ADA resources
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People with disabilities are frequently being screened
out before getting a chance to interview
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Risk aversion theory (easy to hire, difficult to fire)
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Lack of familiarity with disability related issues
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Lack of exposure to success stories
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Lack of exposure to people with disabilities
47
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employer Concerns
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Do not know how to develop a relationship with
individuals with disabilities
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Concern about individual with a disability fitting into the
corporate culture
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Lack of acceptance
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Co-workers do not feel comfortable communicating with
individuals with disabilities
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Some employees will feel the need to mother their coworkers with a disability
48
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Myths About People with
Disabilities
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Lack of maturity
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Poor soft skills
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People with disabilities take things too personally
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Poor grooming and hygiene
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Individual health related issues
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Poor mental health
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People with disabilities lack workplace socialization
skills
49
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Barriers
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Applicant pool of people with disabilities is small
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Diversity training is offered occasionally and disability
is not emphasized.
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Lack of practice/do not interview that many applicants
with disabilities
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Do not have enough exposure to quickly learn to
communicate with people with disabilities. A similar
example will be communicating with immigrant workers
(e.g., Asian Indian IT workers).
50
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Barriers
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Do not know etiquette in communicating with people
with disabilities
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Do not know how to discuss disability with people with
disabilities
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Disability is not one of the focus of diversity in
corporation
51
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Strategies to Improve Hiring
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The use of temporary employment as a starting point
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More effective use of internships
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Contract to hire
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Employer consultation services by job placement
agencies (e.g., DVR)
52
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Strategies to Improve Hiring
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Better assessment/better job-matching
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Linking disability explicitly as part of diversity/disability
as a culture
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Need to have more success stories/visible/TV and
other media
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Better outreach efforts to the disability community
53
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
A Follow-up Employer Survey
54
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
A Follow-up Employer Survey
On-line survey and collected information from 138 HR
and front-line managers about:
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Diversity climates of their company
To what extent disability management is important
Knowledge about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Knowledge about job accommodations
Perceptions of people with disabilities as productive
workers
Hiring strategies to increase employment of people with
disabilities
Efforts to hire people with disabilities.
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Sample Characteristics
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62% are men
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91% are white
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Average age of 45 years old
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Employed predominantly in the:
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56
health-care industries (19%),
finance (16%),
information technology (15%),
manufacturing (14%)
other services (except public administration) (12%), and
professional/technical (10%).
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
A Follow-up Employer Survey
The majority of these participants are employed by
companies with 501 or more employees (64%),
followed by companies with employees between 15100 (16%), companies between 101 and 500
employees (12%), and companies with less than 15
employees (7%)
57
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employers in the Midwest
Companies support diversity
The emphasis of diversity is on gender and race but not
disability
Hiring people with disabilities is not in the diversity plan
No incentive or quotas to hire or retain people with
disabilities at the departmental or unit levels
Hiring managers are not trained in diversity management
related to individuals with disability
Resources for recruiting people with chronic illness and
disability are limited
Disability sensitivity training for line managers is less than
adequate
Hiring managers have no problem hiring and retaining
people with disability in their department.
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58
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employers in the Midwest
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HR and line managers believe that people with disability
have workplace socialization skills; are reliable; can perform
essential tasks; and meet productivity standards
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Hiring people with disability help promote an inclusive
workplace
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Hiring people with disability provide opportunity for
employees to learn to work with people from diverse groups
59
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employers in the Midwest
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HR and line managers indicated that they are not as familiar
with ADA as they should
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There are in-house resources to help with employmentrelated ADA issues
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HR and line managers indicated that they are familiar with
government resources for ADA and employment technical
assistance
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There is no in-house job accommodations experts for
consultation
60
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employers in the Midwest
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Companies are concerned about disability issues in the
workplace related to work injuries, alcohol and drug abuse,
and mental health issues (M=3.77, SD=.74).
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Modest but positive rating of people with disabilities as a
productive and reliable worker with appropriate workplace
socialization skills (M=3.54, SD=.32).
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Close to neutral rating to their knowledge about the
Americans with Disabilities Act and job accommodation
(M=3.22, SD=.64)
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Inclusion of disability in the company’s diversity efforts
(M=3.20, SD=.50)

Use of innovative strategies to recruit and retain people with
disabilities (M=3.09, SD=.40).
61
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Employers in the Midwest
Knowledge about the ADA and job accommodations in the
workplace is positively related to:

including disability as part of the company’s diversity efforts (r
= .67, p < .01)

commitment to hire people with disabilities (r = .64, p < .01),
diversity climate of the company (r = .51, p < .01),

strong concern about managing disabilities in the company (r
= .50, p < .01),

perceptions of people with disabilities as productive and reliable
workers (r = .28, p < .01), and

the use of innovative strategies to recruit and retain people with
disabilities (r = .28, p < .01).
62
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Employers in the Midwest


63
Managers who rated themselves as having good
knowledge of the ADA also rated themselves as having
less negative perceptions about people with disabilities
as productive workers in the workplace (r = -.32, p <
.01).
Negative attitudes toward people with disabilities is
negatively related to perceptions of people with
disabilities as productive workers (r = -.35, p < .01),
inclusion of disability in the diversity effort (r = -.34, p <
.01), and commitments to hire people with disabilities
(r = -.35, p < .01).
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Employers in the Midwest
Diversity climate of the company is related to the
inclusion of people with disabilities. Companies with a
strong commitment to diversity have a higher
propensity to:


include disability as part of their diversity efforts (r
= .67, p < .01)

a stronger commitment to hire people with disabilities
(r = .44, p < .01).

64
Inclusion of disability as diversity efforts of the
company is also significantly related to knowledge of
ADA and job accommodations (r = .67, p < .01).
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Multiple Regression
A multiple regression was conducted with ADA
knowledge, concerns about disability management,
negative attitudes, positive perceptions, diversity
climates, inclusion of disability in diversity efforts,
and hiring strategies were used as independent
variables to predict the commitment of the
company to hire people with disabilities.
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Multiple Regression

The result was significant with R2 = .58, F(7, 125)
= 24.13, p < .001. (Large effect size)

An examination of the beta coefficients revealed
that only knowledge of ADA and job
accommodation (b = .23, p < .05) and inclusion of
disability in diversity efforts (b = .56, p < .01) are
significant in predicting commitment of the
company to hire people with disabilities.
66
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Recommendations


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67
Job development efforts must be expanded to:
work with companies to incorporate disability as part of
their diversity plans;
incorporate incentives to hire and retain people with
disabilities at the unit/departmental level;
provide disability sensitivity and stigma reduction
training, to provide ADA and job accommodation
training;
help design innovative recruitment and retention
strategies such as the use of private job placement
firms and state vocational rehabilitation agency and
resources, internship programs, work trails, and
mentoring.
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Recommendations

68
Hiring managers are still ambivalent about people
with disabilities as productive and reliable workers
in the workplace and the potential negative impact
of accommodating people with disabilities on the
reactions of other workers in the workplace.
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Exemplary Demand-Side Job
Placement Services
69
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Introduction and Overview
January 1st, 2008
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nAblement Contents



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

MPS Partners/ nAblement Mission
MPS Partners/ nAblement Overview
nAblement Channel Strategy
nAblement Initiatives
nAblement Internship
nAblement Solution Summary
71
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NAblement’s Mission
nAblement is focused on partnering with our clients to help
them achieve greater diversity as it relates to making a
commitment to hiring professionals with a disability in
their IT organization.




72
Provide cost-effective / entry-level through transitional
skilled IT professionals with disabilities to local
businesses.
Provide candidates with qualities consistent with the
ability to succeed in a career in the IT industry.
Provide application & infrastructure support positions for
skilled IT professionals with disabilities.
Provide IT solutions that address real business problems
while improving access for all professionals, with or
without disabilities.
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
Vision- Mission- Opportunity
Vision – Positively impact the employment profile among
qualified individuals with disabilities in the Information
Technology sector.
Mission – By 2011 place 150 individuals with disabilities in
local Information Technology positions.
Opportunity – nAblement believes that professionals with
disabilities can be productive members of the IT
community and fully integrated in every facet of society.
73
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Goal
The nAblement goal is to increase the overall employment
among professionals and aspiring professionals with
disabilities in the IT industry, and to influence the
employment of qualified PWD into other industries.
nAblement aligns the following four core efforts in order to
structure an integrated approach to achieve this
objective.
74
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Four Core Efforts
Awareness
Recruiting
Training
Placement
75
Drive thought leadership, research and marketing
activities with our channel partners to educate the
market.
Access & Build traditional and non-traditional channels
for the purpose of creating a robust candidate base to
meet the needs in the market.
Build and execute curriculums that provide educational
opportunities with a direct and measurable impact on
placement .
Provide opportunities for candidates for project-based or
permanent placement in the IT industry.
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
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Awareness Recruiting
ITA PWD SIG
X
Lunch & Learn
Training
X
X
Placement
X
X
Breaking Down Barriers
X
X
Productivity Research
X
Mayor’s Council of
Technology Advisors
X
ITA PWD Internship
X
X
X
DOE Productivity
Employment Grant
X
X
X
50 for the Future
X
Solution Selling
X
X
X
nAblement Initiatives
78
X
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Funded by RSA Grant # H264A080021. © 2009 All Rights Reserved
X
Initiative
Goal
ITA PWD SIG
Build awareness and grow a larger group of individuals connected to
nAblement. Use as vehicle to connect with local business.
Lunch & Learn
Build awareness and expand candidates and supporters connected to
nAblement. Use as vehicle to connect with people with disabilities interested in
IT.
Breaking Down Barriers
Build awareness within local businesses of the opportunities and challenges
facing PWD’s and demonstrate the ease of integrating them.
Productivity Research
Demonstrate the true productive levels, cost and benefit of employing people
with disabilities. Schedule CIO facing event to communicate results.
Mayor’s Council of
Technology Advisors
(MCTA)
Build awareness with local businesses and offer them the opportunity to
participate in the ITA PWD Internship program. Schedule time to integrate with
existing group.
nAblement
Initiatives
ITA PWD Internship
Build a repeatable model for training and placing nAblement internship
candidates. Proactively find sponsorship and 6 month internships with local
companies running Microsoft technologies.
DOE Productivity
Employment Grant
Build awareness within local businesses of the opportunities and challenges
facing PWD’s and demonstrate the ease of integrating them. Provide validated
information and results.
50 for the Future
Identify at least 5 strong candidates to submit for this award through the ITA.
Solution Selling
For the SPR sales channel build a solution set that can be proactively
marketed and sold. Target 20 companies where 508 Compliance is most
relevant.
79
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nAblement Process
Recruiting
Awareness
Productivity
Perception
Survey
ITA PWD SIG
Lunch & Learn
50 for the
Future
DOE
Employment
Grant for pwd
Qualified
Candidates
Training
ITA PWD Internship Program (Microsoft Technologies)
Structure, Overview, Promotion, Launch
Placement
Internship
Candidates
Breaking
Down Barriers
MCTA
Internship Placement
PWD
Sponsorship
Permanent Placement
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Goals of nAblement




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
nAblement and its partners will build awareness and recruit qualified
people with disabilities
Corporate Partners will donate hardware and software for classroom
training supplies and materials
Robert Morris college will hold instructor led classes for Microsoft
System Center Network Support and SharePoint/MOSS
administration and Development.
Corporate and Foundation partners will provide financial
sponsorship for student interns
DOE and other aligned grants will be applied for to assist in
offsetting internship program costs and preparing candidates for hire
Students will participate in 12 week training class consisting of;
classroom training, hands on product certification, industry
awareness, local business onsite mentoring
Corporate partners will hire certified graduates for 6 month
internship with opportunity to hire at the end of training
81
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Solution Overview
nAblement goes to market with the specific objective of selling and
staffing projects with teams IT professionals with disabilities.
nAblement believes that by effectively leveraging the abilities of IT
professionals with disabilities, many IT functions can be successfully
accomplished. The solutions that nAblement has defined and
markets address specific opportunities that fortune 1,000 companies
are facing today. nAblement’s unique understanding and
perspective of the challenges facing professional with disabilities
enables them to focus on the solutions required in today’s
marketplace.
1. 508 Compliance Solution Audit, Assessment, Remediation,
Maintenance
2. Data Validation & Testing Solution Data Preparation, Scripting,
Validation
3. Helpdesk & Desktop Support Solution Help Desk Integration,
Staffing & Out Sourcing
82
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Questions?
83
TACE Center: Region IV, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute.
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Contact Information
Fong Chan, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin- Madison
Email: [email protected]
84
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THANK YOU!
85
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TACE Center: Region IV
Toll-free: (866) 518-7750 [voice/tty]
Fax: (404) 541-9002
Web: TACEsoutheast.org
My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal
Email: [email protected]
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Education Credits
Participants may** be eligible for CRCC and CEU credits.
CRCC Credit (1.5)

By Tuesday, May 19, 2009, participants must score 80% or better
on a online Post Test and submit an online CRCC Request Form
via the MyTACE Portal.
CEU Credit (.10)


Site Coordinators must distribute the CEU form to participants
seeking CEU credit on the day of the webinar.
Site coordinators must submit CEU form to the TACE Center:
Region IV by fax (404) 541-9002 by Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
My TACE Portal: TACEsoutheast.org/myportal
**For CRCC credit, you must reside in the 8 U.S. Southeast states
served by the TACE Region IV [AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN]. If
beyond TACE Region IV, you may apply for CEU credit.
87
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Disclaimer
This presentation was developed by the
TACE Center: Region IV ©2009 with funds from the
U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation
Services Administration (RSA) under the priority of
Technical Assistance and Continuing Education
Projects (TACE) – Grant #H264A080021. However,
the contents of this presentation do not necessarily
represent the policy of the RSA and you should not
assume endorsement by the Federal Government
[34 CFR 75.620 (b)].
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Copyright Information
This work is the property of the TACE Center:
Region IV.
Permission is granted for this material to be
shared for non-commercial, educational
purposes, provided that this copyright
statement appears on the reproduced materials
and notice is given that the copying is by
permission of the authors. To disseminate
otherwise or to republish requires written
permission from the authors.
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