Disability Confident employers will have access to a wider talent pool. Technological developments and increasing use of flexible working mean that organisations are able to create enabling environments where more disabled people can contribute to business success.

• 900,000 disabled people in the UK want to work but have limited access to the labour market because of physical and attitudinal barriers, and past disadvantage [i]
• One in five disabled people in the UK are unemployed but want to work; this compares to one in 15 of non-disabled people [ii] Disabled people are around three times more likely to lack employment but want to work than a non-disabled person [iii]
• Employment rates in Europe for moderately disabled people average about 70% of non-disabled people. Employment rates for severely disabled people are only about 30% of non-disabled people, varying across countries [iv]
• 78% of severely disabled people of working age in the EU are outside the labour market compared to 27% non-disabled people [v]
• In India, 74% of people with disabilities and 94% of people with intellectual disabilities are unemployed [vi]
• The National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) conducted a survey of Indian private and public corporations, included in Business India's Super 100 list. This survey, undertaken in 1999, revealed that the private sector employed a mere 0.28 per cent people with disabilities, while the public sector employed 0.54 per cent. Multinational Corporations had hired only 0.05 per cent disabled people in India. [vii]
• Over 45,000 disabled students study at University every year [viii]; 6% of first class honour degrees are gained by students known to have a disability [ix]
• About one in ten working-age Canadians with disabilities has a university degree, compared to one in five people without disabilities. One third have less than a high school education compared to one quarter of those without disabilities [x]
• Many disabled people are skilled, capable and productive and bring unique insights to businesses which are able to accommodate and benefit from difference. Demos research found that the common experience of contending with a world that is only sporadically accessible means that many have developed a wealth of experience as "serial innovators". Innovative ideas are more likely to come from those who have a new or different angle on old problems [xi]

Engaging with potential employees

• Many employers find attracting talented disabled candidates to be problematic. Experience of leading employers suggests that multiple (project based) recruitment tends to attract more disabled candidates than single-post advertising
• Build the expectation of welcoming and fair treatment into your employer brand is essential
• Consider offering work experience and internship opportunities to disabled people. It's a great way for candidates to get more experience and helps your business to identify and remove barriers which may face disabled people at work.
• Sector based initiatives can help to change people's views of working in a particular industry. Employment opportunities has run events for investment banks aiming to attract more candidates with disabilities

For more information see the Forum publications 'Managing Recruitment briefing paper' and 'Recruitment that Works.'

Useful Links

Remploy's Interwork Recruitment programme provides support to employers and disabled people looking for work

Prospects is the National Autistic Society employment and training service for people with autism and Asperger syndrome who wish to work.

Mencap's WorkRight initiative supports people with a leaning disability into work opportunities with national UK employers.

Scope's Leadership Recruitment programme is a work-based development programme for disabled people of graduate calibre.

Sources

1. [i] Kate Stanley and Sue Regan, The Missing Million, IPPR, 2003
2. [ii] Labour Force Survey, September 2005
3. [iii] Joseph Rowntree research, quoted in the Guardian, 13-12-05
4. [iv] OECD,2003
5. [v] S Leig-Doyle, R Mulvihill, Illness and employment: retaining the link to work, European Foundation for Improvement in Living and Working Conditions 2004.
6. [vi] Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR) and Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) IDRM Asia Report
7. [vii] http://www.ncpedp.org/employ/aw-hk2005.htm
8. [viii] Table 11b - First year UK domiciled HE students by qualification aim(#12), mode of study, gender and disability 2003/04
9. [ix] National Disability Team
10. [x] An Overview of Disability in Canada
11. [xi] Paul Miller, Sophia Parker, Sarah Gillinson, Disablism, 'How to tackle the last prejudice', Demos 2005