Employability skills for entry-level employees with and without disabilities: A comparison between the perspectives of educators and employers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate educators' and employers' perspectives on general employability skills for individuals with and without disabilities. A total of 115 educators and 168 employers participated in the study by completing a survey. It was found that some employability skills are valued by both educators and employers for all entry-level employees, while noteworthy discrepancies existed between educators and employers with regard to their expectations for individuals with disabilities. Implications of these findings for school are discussed.

Salient employability skills for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Singapore: the perspectives of job developers

“…The identification of soft skills was quite common in the interviews, with all but one individual describing at least one soft skill in their response. This emphasis on those skills that are not specific to jobs or academics is similar to results from previous studies in this area (e.g., Casner-Lotto, & Barrington, 2006;Ju et al, 2012;Ju et al, 2014;Lindsay et al, 2014). While some of these may be considered traits rather than skills, this study includes these as soft skills because many students with disabilities need to learn these through classroom or communitybased instruction (Test et al, 2009).…”

“…While it was less of a concern for employees without disabilities, employers noted concern regarding safety skills for employees with disabilities (Ju et al, 2012), which were echoed by Ju et al (2014).…”

“…The views of the school-based job developers are valuable as they are the direct link to employers and can best EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS FOR SINGAPOREAN YOUTH 21 represent what is valued in the workplace. It is also important to note that educators and employers may hold similar views regarding employability skills needed by individuals with disabilities to maintain employment (Ju, et al, 2014).…”

Post‐School Destination—A Study of Women and Men With Intellectual Disability and the Gender‐Segregated Swedish Labor Market

“…Having a job affects one's material conditions, creates structure in everyday life, broadens social networks, and affects personal status and identity (Grant, 2008;Jahoda, Kemp, Riddell, & Banks, 2008;Trembath, Balandin, Stancliffe, & Togher, 2010). These conditions apply in all respects to people with intellectual disability (ID), but they face considerable difficulties regarding establishment in the labor market (Båtevik & Myklebust, 2006;Eisenman, 2003;Ju, Pacha, Moore, & Zhang, 2014;Taanila, Rantakallio, Koiranen, von Wendt, & J€ arvelin, 2005;Trembath et al, 2010).…”

Kebolehpasaran Graduan Pendidikan Teknikal Dan Vokasional: Satu Analisis

“…Dewasa ini bidang pekerjaan semakin kompleks. Ia memerlukan para pekerja yang bukan sahaja berkemahiran teknikal malah memiliki kemahiran kebolehpasaran yang tinggi (Guzman & Choi, 2013;Ju et al 2014) . Maka graduan Pendidikan Teknikal dan Vokasional (PTV) perlulah melengkapkan diri bukan sahaja dengan pengetahuan akademik tetapi perlu selari dengan kebolehan dan kemahiran yang tinggi, fleksibal, sanggup belajar atau dilatih untuk menambah pengetahuan yang sedia ada dan mesti mempunyai pelbagai kemahiran (McQuaid et al 2013;Vidyullatha et al 2016).…”