Getting Started

Getting Started

Employment and Graduates with a disability

What are the barriers and what are the strategies that lead to good employment outcomes?

Introduction

How many students with a disability attend university? The participation rate of students with a disability in higher education - while considerably lower than for the general population - cannot be determined in absolute terms. It is generally agreed that not all students with disabilities declare their disability at enrolment and that the actual numbers of students with disabilities in universities may be somewhat higher than official statistics suggest. (See table 1 below).

However, what the figures do show is that there have been increasing numbers of students with a disability participating in higher education. The question that interests us here is how these students compete in the open labour market and how they make the transition from university to employment.

What are the barriers and what are the strategies that lead to good employment outcomes?

Table 1. Participation in higher education by students with disabilities 1996-2002

Source: Department of Education Science and Technology (DEST), University Statistics Unit, Student Support Branch

Employment and under-employment

There is a body of evidence coming from industry sources that graduates with a disability experience unemployment rates far higher than students without a disability. Moreover, employment consultants working in disability employment services give accounts of graduates with a disability experiencing gross under-employment - working in fast food or service industries usually in base grade positions with little training or career prospects.
Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) conducts a yearly Graduate Destination Survey (GDS) of recent graduates. The following data was provided by the Graduate Destination Survey Manager at RMIT and demonstrates that graduates with a disability are not as successful in their employment outcomes as those without a disability.

A research study from Western Australia investigated the job-finding and employment experiences of graduates with disabilities (Hynes, Syme, Lawn, Jones, Brown & Edwards 1996). There were several positives and negative findings of the report.

Positives

• Large organisations from both the government and private sectors are developing policies and systems to target and accommodate employees with disabilities
• Once employed, graduates receive similar salary and conditions to their peers
• Graduates with disabilities are more likely to work part-time and be self-employed
• Most graduates do not experience barriers once they have secured employment, but those who do experience difficulties cite inflexible work routines as the most common barrier.

Negatives

• Negative employer attitudes were the most common barriers facing graduates
• Graduates with disabilities do, at times, encounter discrimination in the process of finding and applying for employment because of their disability
• Graduates with disabilities can take longer to find employment
• Graduates whose disability is visible can experience more difficulty in securing employment
• Fewer graduates with disabilities than graduates without disabilities work during their final years of study, although many identified benefits in work experience.

Disability Disclosure

The most frequently asked questions by graduates with a disability are if, when, and whether, they have to tell their employer about their disability. Many graduates report that they experience a great deal of anxiety over this issue of disclosure. Similarly, employment consultants working in the disability sector are concerned that they have a duty of care to inform job-seekers wisely and provide accurate information on legal requirements. For graduates with a disability whether to disclose or not to disclose it is a bit like being between a rock and a hard place - damned if you do and damned if you don't.

The benefits may be that the employer can provide simple equipment or reorganise working arrangements to improve job efficiency. The disadvantage may be that other employees and/or managers will focus on the disability rather than a person's skills and ability to do the job, and may discriminate against that person.

Disclosure is an individual decision, depending on the circumstances, the context, the disability and the personal comfort zone of the job seeker. In making the choice, one needs to consider both the benefits and disadvantages of disclosure.

However, graduates should remember that whenever they disclose they should do so positively and openly not forgetting to emphasise their knowledge and skills and to explain what their disability means in practical terms, after all they are the experts in living with themselves.

Employer attitudes

Employer attitudes to disability remain the most important barriers to overcome for graduates with a disability. Usually employers equate disability to inefficiencies, problems and costly workplace accommodations. It is important that these apprehension and misconceptions by employers are dispelled as they find no real substance in the facts.

For example in the USA, the Office of Disability Employment Policy reported that 68 per cent of job accommodations made cost less than $500, and further, that employers reported that for every dollar spent on accommodations, the company received $28 in benefits.

Moreover employers should consider the following facts:

1. A recent survey conducted by US Alliance of America found 91 per cent of people with a disability rated average or higher in terms of job performance.
2. A study conducted on behalf of Telstra Australia in 1999 found that
   a. over a 15 month period people with a disability had 11.8 days absent compared to people without a disability who had 19.24 days absent.
   b. when comparing people with a disability to people without a disability in the areas of performance, productivity and sales - the study found that there were no significant differences.
   
3. According to the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research most adults with a disability who are working or willing to work do not need special equipment or technology to perform there jobs effectively. For the 26 per cent who report needing special equipment or technology to do their jobs effectively, the technology is readily available and relatively inexpensive.
4. The presence of people with a disability in the workplace creates a very positive effect on staff morale and assists in creating effective teamwork values.
5. A recent Deakin University study found
   a. based on employers experience employing a person with a disability over 90 per cent of employers said they would be happy to continue employing people with a disability
   b.78 per cent described the match between their employee with a disability and the job as 'good'.
   

Conclusion

Graduates with a disability can make a significant contribution to the Australian labour market. They simply need to be given a fair go like anybody else. It is the responsibility of employers, government and ultimately all of us working in the sector to ensure that they do not experience disability discrimination in the workforce.

The Disability Employment Action Centre (DEAC) has been assisting graduates and professionals with disabilities into employment for over 10 years.

If you're an employer interested in finding out more about how [DEAC] can assist your organisation diversify its works force contact Marketing Manager Emily Wild on 03 9655 1129. If you're a student interested in finding out more about how DEAC can assist you in finding the right graduate employment opportunity call 03 9650 2533