Careers guidance and disabled students

Guidance for Students and Graduates with Disabilities (University of Plymouth)

Before the project, it was clear that graduates with disabilities had a pressing need for appropriate careers guidance in order to assist them to achieve graduate-level employment on completion of their degrees. HESA statistics indicated that there was a higher than expected number of graduates with disabilities unemployed in relation to the national average for graduates, despite the HEFCE special initiative for widening access. The Dearing Report (1997) highlighted a recent survey showing that 7 per cent of the 18-30 age group had a long-standing disability. Statistics showed that only 20 per cent of University of Plymouth graduates with disabilities were in full-time employment six months after graduation.

The aims of this project, initiated by the South West Regional Access Centre for Students with Disabilities in conjunction with the Careers Service at the University of Plymouth, were to:

• Establish and provide specialist careers guidance and assessment services for students and recent graduates with disabilities in order to provide enhanced quality career opportunities.
• Offer disability equality training to potential employers in order to build partnerships with a local, regional and national base.
• Improve appropriate placement and employment by maximising students' involvement in vocational activities during their degree.
• Build models of good practice to be disseminated to various agencies, employers and graduates.

Actions taken during the project in order to achieve the aims include the following:

• Planning and development of appropriate procedures including individual assessment of needs.
• Pre-placement assessment interviews of vocational support needs for 20 students with disabilities.
• Guidance about available grants to students, unemployed graduates, first-destination employees and employers.
• Development of a range of training materials for SMEs, covering funding of support, the role of assistive technology, disability, equality, communication issues, and the needs of employers.
• Critical evaluation of the development and delivery of services and activities provided to users (e.g., students and graduates) through means including face-to-face interviews and evaluation sheets.

The University of Plymouth plans to build on this project in various ways. For example, it will integrate the work of the specialist careers adviser with the rest of the team. Relevant careers materials will up-dated and reviewed, and careers staff and SMEs in the South West will be trained in disability awareness.

The project report discusses lessons learned and recommendations for future actions. These include:

• Some students are difficult to target for various reasons. They may not realise that they have a problem, such as dyslexia, or they may have mental health problems that they are reluctant to disclose. The report recommends that particular attention needs to be focused on sensitive targeting and diverse means of communication, as well as providing relevant staff training and on-line support.
• SMEs are often reluctant to take on graduate recruitment and placements, a problem compounded when the student has a disability. The report recommends that employers are made aware, through awareness raising and training, that inclusiveness in the workplace enables them to respond more appropriately to the enhanced "good and services" section of the Disability Discrimination Act for the benefit of customers and clients.
• Discriminatory attitudes and actions are often dissipated when awareness is raised through positive action. It suggests making activities high profile and utilising successful people with disabilities as mentors and ambassadors for change.

Click here to view project summary

Follow this link for the Final Report

Project Themes:

Graduate Business Start-ups

Key Skills in HE

High Level Lifelong Learning

Guidance for Graduates

Recording Achievement

Labour Market Intelligence

Innovation and Creativity in the Curriculum

Work Experience

© 2001