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‘We have an untapped group here’: A career fair for disabled job seekers links with employers

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‘We have an untapped group here’: A career fair for disabled job seekers links with employers

Nathan Schmitt is finishing up his degree in IT and software development from Milwaukee Area Technical College and is looking for a job. While job openings are seemingly everywhere, finding a job is harder for him.  

As a person on the autism spectrum, Schmitt has difficult presenting the best version of himself in interviews, over the phone, or in email.  

“I’ve only ever done two interviews before this and I was really nervous,” Schmitt said. 

On May 15, Disability: IN Wisconsin partnered with ManpowerGroup in Milwaukee to offer a career fair for people with mental and physical disabilities to learn what jobs are available. It was also an opportunity for employers to learn how to find candidates from this part of the workforce. 

More: Here’s an employer that is providing key opportunities to workers with disabilities

The event took place at Manpower’s headquarters and brought together about 15 employers, 12 non-profits and more than 100 job seekers.  

“Far too often the traditional hiring process or traditional career fair events inherently have barriers for individuals with disabilities,” said Saul Newton, executive director for Disability: IN Wisconsin. “We really wanted to offer a flexible accommodating, accessible opportunity for seekers to really show what they can bring to the workplace.” 

Newton said hiring someone with a disability should not be viewed as some kind of charitable act, but something a company can do to be more efficient and consistent.  

“The skill sets that individuals with disabilities bring are critically needed for the workforce,” Newton said. “They’re analytical, they’re task focused, they’re extremely loyal and retention is astronomically high. So, there’s a real opportunity for employers who are willing to make that commitment, who are willing to learn how to be more inclusive and more accessible.” 

As part of the event, job candidates and employers participated in a “reverse” job fair where candidates sat at a table and a potential employer approached them to tell them about their company and what they do.  

Schmitt said the reverse job fair was good interview practice for him. 

“Each one of those reverse career fair sessions was like another interview. It was like eight more practice rounds that I would have never gotten if I didn’t have this,” Schmitt said “It’s a lot more of a one-on-one experience. It’s like a job interview without the pressure. It not only makes me feel more comfortable but when I go around and talk to them later, I’m already going to have a face and know the person already.” 

Majority of disabled people don’t have a job

In February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said last year 22.5% of people with a disability were employed “the highest recorded ratio since comparable data were first collected in 2008.” 

But that means most people with disabilities did not have a job.  

“This is a talent pool that is extremely underutilized,” Newton said. “The unemployment and under-employment rate of people with disabilities is upwards of 80%. So employers who are looking to fill positions, who have a need to hire employees to grow their businesses, this is a talent pool that they can, and should, leverage.” 

More: Refugees, immigrants have become key components in fight against worker shortage

Tracy Glorioso, director of client operations at ManpowerGroup, and board member of Disability: IN Wisconsin, said the event is not only a time to find good candidates but an opportunity for the talent acquisition team to learn how interview and evaluate a person with a disability for a job. 

“You can’t ask the same question to every single individual and expect the same answer, especially with neurodiverse talent,” Glorioso said. “Your questions can’t be vague and a high level, ‘What do you think of this?’ Those individuals will not make it to the second round of that interview.” 

For ManpowerGroup, the educational side of the event extends to its clients and how people with disabilities can help them.  

“At one point in time, we’re all going to experience (disability). Whether you’re born with it, become later in life, become ill, get into an accident… that’s why it’s really key, not just for ManpowerGroup, but for all organizations, to understand how to work better in this space,” Glorioso said. “We have a worker shortage but we have an untapped group here that there isn’t a shortage of, that we should be looking at this type of talent.” 

Anna Helbig, human resources director for Aurora Healthcare, said the health system is trying to make the hiring process as inclusive as possible. 

“We have food service (jobs), environmental services, housekeeping, those are always great entry level ways into the healthcare workforce that you don’t need anything beyond that high school diploma,” Helbig said. “We have a lot of candidates here that have more than a high school diploma. So we also don’t want to limit ourselves on just those career fields.”  

Helbig, also a board member for Disability: IN Wisconsin, said employers should remove any preconceptions about what people can disability do in the workforce.  

“Sometimes people have an idea in mind of the capacity or the expectation that someone with a disability can work with. I think we need to remove all of those expectations for all candidates and all employers… and have the candidate tell us,” Helbig said. “If we put that limit on what they can do, we’re only going to allow them to reach that far… broadening what our expectations are can really open the field.”

More: Wisconsin’s job recovery from pandemic has been quick but ‘uneven,’ according to new policy forum report

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