The Results
This “employment empowerment” instructional content is designed to meet youth and adults with disabilities where they might be (having doubts about their competitive employment potential) and moving them forward.
The purpose of this instruction is to address these issues head-on, with new ideas and information which can ease or remove their self-doubts and improve their self-confidence. This makes their personal choice about competitive employment better informed and more likely.
This instruction was devised and evaluated during a two year Kessler Foundation grant at three colleges (San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Berkeley). During the Kessler trial, important job readiness skills were measured both before and after instruction. While this demonstration involved a small group of students with disabilities (N-157) subsequent to this grant similar results were realized in other situations. When you review this content, you’ll begin to see why it works. It makes sense. It realizes that inner beliefs and self-confidence are fundamental to improved employment outcomes.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
This “employment empowerment” content can both create the will and show the way.
Key Skill Development (answer is “yes”) Before Course After Course
Believed disability is an asset to employers 31.6% 90.9%
Felt unprepared for work 51.6% 10.7%
Were able to answer "what work do you hope for?" 46.8% 92.3%
Knew workplace values 34.6% 76.3%
Felt comfortable in job interviews 19.9% 86.0%
Felt comfortable working with people 38.5% 87.1%
Felt comfortable speaking about accomplishments 24.2% 87.1%
Felt comfortable sharing their thoughts freely 34.4% 88.6%
Understood what employers are looking for 32.5% 93.8%
Believed it would be hard to get job with disability 67.5% 19.1%
Able to demonstrate their leadership skills 44.2% 84.6%
Felt comfortable discussing accommodation needs 26.6% 85.1%
Deal w/employers’ fears about hiring PWD’s 28.2% 94.6%
Knew disability laws 26.3% 93.9%
Believed employers will want to hire them 29.1% 93.1%
Believed disability is a source of pride 65.5% 91.6%
These learning gains show tremendous improvement in the fundamental beliefs and skills associated with competitive employment. Before taking the course the students with disabilities had a collective grade “F” – after the course, “B’s” & “A’s.” The Kessler grant also documented that they got jobs at about the same rate as other college students (without disabilities).
Student comments: “This was a really great class. What a great idea to actually help students with disabilities prepare more deeply and completely for their careers. The information was fundamentally important and represents a missing link in our transition process. This course taught me a lot of disability resources that I didn’t know or would have never found looking around on my own. Other than this course, there isn’t a lot out there to guide us. This course fills a void of information and direction on the subject. For example, how to manage your disability in an interview was a new idea and very helpful to me.”
For an overview of the Kessler grant results see:
Kessler Foundation Grant Project Summary Report
Of course, this suggested instruction is one example of a possible “employment empowerment” curriculum. Hopefully, more will come. Further research and demonstrations are needed. Variations for different populations and circumstances will add strength to the “employment empowerment” movement.