A research study was conducted in 1996 by the New South Wales (NSW) Regional Disability Liaison Officers, focussing on the transition processes that occurred from education to employment for university students and graduates with disabilities. The Research Paper, although dated, is one of few sources that explore the transition pathway from education to employment for university students and graduates with disabilities. This Paper has formed the basis for the development of the original Education to Employment Package.
Disability Legislation and Employment
As a person with a disability, you have the same rights to employment opportunities as a person without a disability. It is important to understand your rights and responsibilities specific to employment, preferably before starting to look for work.
This section provides you with information about:
- Your rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law
- What you can do if you are discriminated against
- Other useful resources on the web
- Who you can contact if you need to talk about your rights and responsibilities in employment
Disability Disclosure in Employment
Before deciding to disclose your disability in an employment environment, it is important to understand the issues and choices you may face.
Issues and choices discussed in this section are:
- 'Do I need to disclose my disability?'
- 'When do I disclose my disability?'
- 'How do I disclose my disability?'
- 'What are my rights?'
- 'Do I have responsibilities when I disclose?'
Dispelling the Myths and Stereotypes
Employers sometimes have fixed views, which are often incorrect, about employing people with disabilities. A number of studies have demonstrated that such views are wrong and that people with disabilities can and do succeed in employment.
This section highlights some success stories of University graduates with a disability as well as providing you with facts about people with disabilities including:
- work attendance, productivity rates, job retention
- Occupational Health and Safety
- workplace modifications
Negotiating Changes in The Workplace to Meet Your Disability Needs
As a person with a disability, you may require changes to be made to a job recruitment process and/or the job. These changes need to be negotiated with an employer. This section gives advice on how to identify your employment adjustment needs and how to negotiate with an employer to make changes to:
- the job recruitment process
- your job.
Health Questionnaires and Assessments
Health questionnaires and assessments can be a standard procedure when applying for certain jobs. Health questionnaires and assessments may ask you specific disability questions. This section provides advice on:
- health assessment requirements when applying for certain public sector jobs in Tasmania
- general advice on medical/physical examinations
- whether to disclose your disability.
Psychometric Assessment – Ability/Aptitude Tests
Due to the competitive nature of recruitment today, there has been an increase in the use of various selection techniques, in particular ability and/or aptitude assessment tests. This section will assist you as a graduate to:
- gain an understanding about ability/aptitude tests and
- how best to prepare for ability/aptitude tests when seeking employment.
There are a number of University of Tasmania services available to assist you with careers and disability information. It is important to investigate what services are provided at your UTAS campus whilst you are studying to ensure that you are prepared when you start looking for work.
This section provides information about:
Private Personnel Agencies, Employment Services, Recruitment Consultants:
These services are private organisations that assist employers to find people for their jobs. You may choose to join one of these services to assist you to get a job in your chosen field.
This section provides information about these organisations, specifically:
- What these organisations provide
- How they can assist you to find the job in your area of expertise
- How to access these organisations