Disability and student recruitment
Our vision is to ensure that having a disability or long-term health condition doesn't prevent anyone from having the career that they want to have
The number of students with a disability or long-term health condition attending university continues to increase year on year. Like their non-disabled counterparts, they choose to go to University for a variety of reasons, including to pursue a particular career or to enable them to get a better job than they would otherwise have done.
However, it remains considerably harder for them to find employment upon graduating than for their non-disabled counterparts; and research shows that disabled graduates at all qualification levels are less likely to have obtained full-time employment than non-disabled graduates.
This presents a challenge for both employers, who historically have struggled to engage with this talent pool and Universities who are tasked with ensuring all students, including those who have a disability, are ready for work.
In order to address this issue, careers advisers and employability teams, student support staff and academic staff with a wider employability remit, must all understand the specific challenges facing disabled students as they transition from education to employment, and be in a position to support them with accurate information, resources and advice.
Disabled students face a number of challenges as they enter the world of work
Over ¾ of disabled students said they did not want to disclose a disabilty to an employer
Disabled students fear being discriminated against
Disabled students fear being negatively judged, or stigmatised due to their disability
They don’t know how, or when, to inform a potential employer about their disability
Students are concernedrequesting adjustments& stating mitigating circumstances
Disabled students feel ‘lesser’ than their non-disabled counterparts
The aim of the MyPlus ‘Be Disability Confident on Campus Toolkit’ is to share the resources developed by MyPlus and enable University Support Staff to coach and mentor students towards confidently achieving their career goals.
University careers services have a vital role to play in ensuring that disabled graduates have the tools they need to realise their potential and gain employment in roles that fit in with their career plan.
- Lord Shinkwin
To find out about our information, resources and guidance of university staff, have a look at our Disability Confidence on Campus Toolkit
