Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities

January 10, 3:47 PMMiami Job Recruiting ExaminerBrenna D'Angelo

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If you are disabled or know someone who is a disabled college student- listen up. There is a wonderful program designed to assist putting our disabled community members to work.

The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) is a resource for federal agencies and private businesses nationwide to identify qualified employees. Applicants are postsecondary students and recent graduates eager to prove their abilities in the workforce.

Higher education facilities like Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL are making significant strides in employing disabled students. With the national unemployment rate hovering around 6%, college graduates with disabilities have a 30% unemployment rate. Research shows that nationwide employers state that job applicants with disabilities are lacking in two critical areas. These areas are written communications skills and interview skills.

The U.S. Department of Labor program trains recruiters to conduct personal interviews with interested students on college and university campuses. Currently close to 200 campuses nationwide participate. Students also get to sharpen their interviewing skills during a required one-on-one meeting with a program recruiter. The program works on a timeline coordinated with a school calendar agenda. The schedule of employer recruitment visits to schools is usually set by mid-September. Personal interviews with the individual student candidates are then conducted from mid-January through mid-February. By the end of March, From these student interviews, a database is compiled containing information on more than 1,500 college students and recent graduates seeking temporary or permanent jobs.

The job candidate must be a U.S. citizen with a substantial disability. The term "substantial" is not defined in the program's brochure. As an additional requirement, the candidate must be seeking a degree and be enrolled in an accredited institution of higher learning on a full-time basis (unless the severity of the disability precludes the student from carrying a full-time course load). Recent graduates also qualify if they received a degree within the past year.