Career Counseling And Job Placement Of Disabled Students At Two Year Colleges

Author : Workforce Strategy Center
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781933493282
Total Pages : 81 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (932 download)

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Download or read book Career-Focused Services for Students with Disabilities at Community Colleges written by Workforce Strategy Center and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nation's changing economy requires workers to attain increasingly higher job skills. Leaders in education, workforce development, and economic development recognize the need to help workers meet this challenge and to help employers find qualified employees. Barriers to educational and career opportunities will need to be removed so that individuals can succeed in this changing environment. In order to adequately respond to the pressing needs of a shifting economy and prepare a talented workforce, all students must have access to relevant education and training. With a total enrollment of approximately 11.6 million students--nearly half of all undergraduates in the country--the nation's community colleges have a critical role to play in addressing this imperative. Community colleges must strive to align their programs and services with the needs of the economy and to assist students to make successful transitions from education to work. Statistics indicate that people with disabilities complete high school and attend postsecondary institutions at significantly lower rates than the overall population. Additionally, people with disabilities have a much higher unemployment rate. Although efforts by policymakers and disability advocates to address these disparities have made positive impacts, it is clear that more systematic efforts must be made on a regional, state, and national level to assist students with disabilities to succeed in postsecondary education and enter the workforce. This report examines the efforts of community colleges to function as intermediaries in meeting the local workforce development needs of employers and promoting career opportunities and job attainment for students, including those with disabilities. Five appendices are included: (1) State Policy Discussion Guide; (2) List of Telephone Conversations with State Level Administrators; (3) List of Interviews at Community and Technical Colleges; (4) Community and Technical College Discussion Guide; and (5) List of Materials Reviewed at Each Site. (Contains 9 footnotes.) [This report was also prepared by the National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth.].