JUST ONE-in-four businesses employs a graduate with a disability, a new survey has found. This is despite the number of third-level students with a disability having tripled in the last 12 years, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (Ahead) revealed yesterday.
Half of the 300 employers surveyed by TNS/MRBI had interviewed a candidate with a disability. However, almost three-quarters of employers believed a job candidate should tell an employer if they had a disability.
Three-quarters of employers had not had any disability training, and 45 per cent did not understand that reasonable accommodation can include the use of a sign-language interpreter.
"Employers fear some sort of reprisal if they 'get it wrong' when recruiting or employing a graduate with disabilities," said Ann Heelan, executive director of Ahead. "They are worried about legislation, their own knowledge of disabilities and how to manage them, and productivity levels," she added.
