AbilityLinks to Host Disability Virtual Job Fair for National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Career fair connects job-seekers with disabilities and inclusive employers on October 12
WHEATON, Ill., Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, AbilityLinks.org, the job-opportunity network for people with disabilities, will host its third virtual job fair of the year on October 12. All job-seekers with disabilities and employers who value disability diversity are invited to participate.
This virtual job fair, whose theme this year is #InclusionWorks, is open to job-seekers and employers at no cost, and it will match talented candidates with disabilities to employment opportunities. While the website and jobs will be accessible at any time of day, a schedule will be posted of times specific employers will be available to chat. Additionally, job-seekers who register ahead of time will receive a list of participating employers with links to their career opportunities websites, as well as their chat schedules for the event.
"This is a prime opportunity to interact directly with employers and recruiters who are actively seeking employees with disabilities," said Ken Skord, Program Director, AbilityLinks.
Registration for this popular event is underway, and sponsorship opportunities are available. Job-seekers and employers who are interested in exhibiting at or sponsoring the AbilityLinks job fair may register by clicking on the Virtual Job Fair link on www.AbilityLinks.org.
"Job-seekers will be encouraged to search each company's career opportunities page before and after the job fair. On the day of the job fair, employers will also be able to search job fair résumés. At the conclusion, AbilityLinks will send each company a list of job fair participants and who applied to which job titles," said Skord.
Exhibiting employers will receive a virtual booth, company profile page, and unlimited job postings with links to their preferred online application page. Job-seekers will be able to post various styles of their résumé, tailoring them to specific areas of interest, and submit their résumés directly to employers. Job-seekers and employers will also have the opportunity to connect in live chat sessions.
The AbilityLinks team offers support to job-seekers, employers, and service providers by creating connections and strategies that promote a more inclusive workforce. AbilityLinks also offers a mentoring program, which connects job-seekers with an established working professional for input and encouragement in their job search.
"As of August 2016, only about 20 percent of people with disabilities reported being employed, compared to nearly 70 percent of people without disabilities," Skord says. "Employers and federal contractors can positively impact this rate by participating in our virtual job fairs and networking with this talented workforce."
About AbilityLinks.org
Every day, thousands of individuals join America's fastest growing labor pool: Persons with Disabilities. Now in its fifteenth year, AbilityLinks, the free, nationwide program of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, works to match qualified individuals to employers who embrace diversity. The program has successfully assisted over 700 of these individuals find employment.
About Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, part of Northwestern Medicine, has been a leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation since 1972, advancing the field with a "high-touch, high-tech" approach. Marianjoy's Wheaton campus is a state-of-the-art facility with 127 beds for acute and subacute care. Marianjoy maintains an extensive network of inpatient, subacute, and outpatient sites, as well as physician clinics throughout the Chicagoland area. To learn more about Marianjoy, please visit www.marianjoy.org.
SOURCE AbilityLinks
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