Press Releases
YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CONNECT WITH TOP EMPLOYERS AT FLORIDA DMD NATIONAL KICKOFF EVENT & CAREER FAIR
Nearly 600 high school and college students attend to secure job interviews and career advice from leading business executives and companies
The Exhibit Hall at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida, was teeming with resume-toting job seekers who were given the opportunity to network with top employers across Florida and the nation. What made this atmosphere unique is that each of the job seekers had a disability, and the career fair they were attending was created specifically to help them achieve meaningful employment at companies with a history of hiring from the disability community. This first-ever statewide career fair for young people with disabilities was organized by The Able Trust, also known as the Florida Governor's Alliance for the Employment of Citizens with Disabilities. Nearly 600 high school and college students traveled from around Florida to come face-to-face with more than 40 employers, including Wachovia, Best Buy, Publix and American Express.
"This is an exciting time for Florida's disability community," exclaimed Jeannie Amendola, secretary of The Able Trust Board of Directors, during the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the career fair. "What you see here today is a collaborative effort of employers, state leaders, business professionals, educators and agencies who are all working toward the same goal, and that's improving the lives of people with disabilities," she said.
In addition to networking opportunities, the career fair featured breakout sessions, national keynote speakers, resume critiques, interview opportunities and assistive technology demonstrations for workers with disabilities.
Florida Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp and leaders from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) also joined The Able Trust and corporate executives during the ceremony to highlight the state initiatives and programs that are working to help people with disabilities enter the workforce. Lt. Governor Kottkamp said progress is being made to reduce the high unemployment rate in the state's disability community.
"The Able Trust awards $2 million in grants each year to more than 400 disability organizations providing valuable employment support. APD has greatly expanded its emphasis on employment as a priority service outcome for the people it serves, and last year Florida employers hired over 11,000 individuals who received training and education from VR. We are moving in the right direction," he said.
The career fair also served as the kick-off event to commemorate National Disability Mentoring Day (DMD), an annual job shadowing opportunity for students and job seekers with disabilities coordinated nationally by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). DMD takes place October 17th and for the second time, Florida has the distinct honor of being recognized as the national leader in providing business and workplace mentoring opportunities for young people and job seekers with disabilities.
"Employers say that their own lack of exposure to people with disabilities is one of the biggest barriers to hiring them," said AAPD President and CEO Andrew J. Imparato. "Year after year these barriers are knocked away in Florida as a growing number of businesses participate in DMD. They connect with the students and job seekers and this informal exposure is helping them see that people with disabilities are eager to work and capable of having successful careers."
NASA Engineer Gabe Gabrielle has been mentoring students with disabilities for five years. Each year he participates in DMD and he says the people he mentors don't see their disability as an obstacle.
"There is nothing greater than the opportunity to be a positive influence in a young person's life and to share in their dreams," Gabrielle said. "The more I'm involved as a mentor, the more I appreciate the determination of these young people. I've learned that students with disabilities have a tremendous desire to be successful."
University of South Florida student Nicole Aycock agrees. She has cerebral palsy and got involved in DMD while in high school. She says her mentor showed her how to pursue her career goal of becoming a teacher.
"I was able to be mentored by someone who was in the career field that I wanted to work in," Nicole explained. "My mentor taught me the ins and outs of a teaching career and how to go about achieving my goal. I had met someone who had the same passion about teaching as I do and they motivated me."
To view photos from this year's Florida DMD National Kickoff Event & Career Fair, click here.
To see details, including speakers and the schedule of activities, for the 2007 Florida DMD Kickoff Event & Career fair, click here.