Inclusion
Career support for students with disabilities
"Whether it's in the lab or the marketplace, competitive advantage in a business like ours ultimately
rests on innovation. To succeed, we must bring together talented and committed people with diverse
perspectives - people who can challenge one another's thinking, people who collectively approach problems
from multiple points of view. We will continue, therefore, to cast the widest net in our search for
talent - because it is the smart thing to do"
(Merck Pharmaceuticals)
The Cooperative Education & Careers Division offers a special Careers Support Service for students and graduates with disabilities. The Careers Support Service does not promote disability awareness in the workplace simply as part of the equality agenda; there is a strong and well-supported business case for tapping this source of high quality graduates.
Students with disabilities will often have developed a range of soft skills that transfer easily to the workplace. In addition to academic achievement, students will have developed the ability to be organised, flexible and focussed- i.e. they will have developed the ability 'to think outside the box'.
Irish Universities are committed to increasing the participation rate of students with disabilities. This will present challenges to employers and organisations to ensure equality of opportunity in recruitment and selection procedures.
There is still a considerable amount of work to be done in reviewing selection and assessment methods in the recruitment process. A competency based selection procedure would be more effective in overcoming some of the barriers encountered by graduates with disabilities
Taking positive steps to employ students and graduates with disabilities will have a positive impact on your organisation. For further ideas on positive action in the employment of people with disabilities see the PWDI, (People with Disabilities in Ireland).