Erica Smith

deaf access

Person with disability

a few points.
1 a quota needs to be given to government services to the % of people they MUST employ with a disability
2. Recruitment needs to be equable for people with a disability. ie application and interview process needs to be inclusive of people and take into account people who may be blind, deaf/hard of hearing, processing problems, etc, etc.
Frequently employers say. ‘We interviewed a person with a disability but they didn’t interview as well as the incumbent.’ well of course not, they already come into the room with a disadvantage and nothing was done to level the field.
” Their skills didn’t match what we were looking for” without realising that people with a disability undervalue themselves, have poor self esteem and find it more confronting to sit in front of 3-4 people firing oral questions at them. Even when their skills are on a par or better skills, they don’t always communicate this well. Does a formal interview process really test if anyone is the best for the job?
People with a disability may not have exactly the skill set but little acknowledgement is made of the many of the other skills they may have / strengths they have.