Disability Mentoring Day
Posted October 22, 2012 by Mandy Smith in Employment
Disability Mentoring Day is a nationwide effort to promote career development for students with disabilities through hands-on career exploration.
What is Disability Mentoring Day?
Students with disabilities (mentees) are matched with workplace mentors according to expressed career interests. Mentees experience a typical day on the job and learn how to prepare to enter the world of work. Employers gain an increased awareness that people with disabilities represent an overlooked talent pool. Disability Mentoring Day is a program of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).
Background
Disability Mentoring Day began in 1999 with fewer than three-dozen student participants as part of a White House effort to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), celebrated every October. In 2005, 9,000 youth with disabilities participated nationally and in 20 international locations. They were mentored by more than 2,000 private, non-profit, governmental, and educational organizations.
What are the goals of Disability Mentoring Day?
- To enhance internship and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
- To promote disability as a central component of diversity recruitment for a more inclusive workforce.
- To dispel employers’ fears about hiring people with disabilities.
- To increase confidence among students and job seekers with disabilities.
- To launch a year-round effort to foster mentoring opportunities.
Who participates?
Employers (private, non-profit, government, educational), students with disabilities, and educators participate in Disability Mentoring Day.
Information is from: http://www.dol.gov/odep/programs/dmd.htm
