Moving towards more disability-inclusive employment recruitment processes

Improving possibilities for the employability of persons with disabilities needs to be a vital consideration, given the numerous factors contributing to their low employment levels. The recruitment of employees in the South African context is based on criteria such as level of education, competence, and formal qualification, coupled with factors related to demographic details which are interrogated to assist with redressing past imbalances pertaining to race, gender, socio-economic status, and disability. This kind of demographic information is contained within centralised databases in organisations, which can be shared with potential employers. However, when considering full and competitive participation in training and employment for persons with disabilities, we need to give consideration to more than just skills, competence, and formal qualifications.

This policy brief addresses the need to encourage employers to be more involved in promoting employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. This brief is from the Driving Disability Inclusive Practice in Policy Processes: A Call for Evidence-Based Advocacy and Action monograph, which is Volume 7 in the Disability Catalyst Africa series.