Phase 1:
Recruiting Talent with Disabilities

Find Candidates with Disabilities

The resources listed below will help you identify candidates with disabilities who may be interested in applying to your apprenticeship program. They will also help you understand applicable federal and state laws related to recruiting and hiring apprentices with disabilities.

Connect with Disability- & Apprenticeship-Focused Support Organizations:

There are dozens of organizations connecting employers to candidates with disabilities. We recommend you reach out to these organizations to discuss your hiring goals and learn how they can help you market your apprenticeship program to their candidate pools:

• State and Local Service Providers & Community-based Organizations: Work with state and local service providers, such as vocational rehabilitation agencies, American Job Centers, Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and other community-based organizations with ties to local communities. View this list of state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies in your area.
• Workforce Recruitment Program: The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP)  connects federal and private-sector employers with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities eager to demonstrate their skills through summer employment, apprenticeships, or permanent job opportunities.
• Veterans: As of December 2020 there were over 550,000 working-age Veterans looking for employment. And as of a 2018 survey, 41% of Gulf War-era II (post-9/11) Veterans had a service-connected disability, compared with 25% of all Veterans. There is an untapped pool of Veterans with disabilities who may a good fit for your apprenticeship program.  
  • The Urban Institute recently unveiled their resource “Recruiting Veterans and Transitioning Service Members into your Registered Apprenticeship Program,” which includes specific guidance for finding qualified Veterans. 
  • You may also want to connect with the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) office at your local military base. TAP provides information to service members transitioning from active duty to help them succeed in their personal and professional lives. Many bases allow employers to attend TAP sessions to conduct recruitment efforts.
• Federal Resources: The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a list of resources for hiring individuals with disabilities.

Consider Working with Private Job-Matching Companies

Private job-matching companies, such as Inclusively and Getting Hired, match candidates with disabilities with employers who are committed to hiring people with disabilities. These companies are also good sources of talent for federal contractors who must comply with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or state contractors complying with similar state-level regulations.

Confirm Your Program is Meeting Federal and State Hiring Requirements

Are you a federal contractor or subcontractor running an apprenticeship program? If so, you are likely subject to Section 503 that states federal contractors and subcontractors should aim to have people with disabilities make up 7% of their workforce. Many states have laws to encourage state agencies and private employers to be model employers of people with disabilities.

• For a list of state laws that encourage employers to hire, recruit, and retain people with disabilities, review the table at the bottom of this statute and legislation scan from the National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL).