NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley spoke at the Employment First NC Anniversary Celebration on March 22 highlighting programs that help job seekers with disabilities gain resume-building skills and experience, expand professional networks, and prepare for in-demand careers.
Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 92: Employment First for North Carolinians with Disabilities, on March 28, 2019. Employment First is a national movement that recognizes that all citizens, including individuals with significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in integrated employment and community life.
The Employment First NC Anniversary Celebration featured success stories of Employment First and Linking NC with Innovative Talent (LiNC-IT) participants and highlighted the employer partners who make the programs possible. The LiNC-IT Collaborative was created to provide employment experience, paid internships, or on-the-job training for students and professionals with autism, as well as to provide employers with a pipeline of excellent talent often missed during conventional recruitment processes.
During the event, Director Barbara Gibson shared how the Office of State Human Resources has expanded recruitment and retention efforts in support of jobseekers and employees with disabilities.
More than 1.3 million North Carolinians, approximately 13 percent of the state’s population, have a disability. Of these individuals, more than 720,000 are of working age, but only 35 percent are employed, compared to 76 percent of North Carolinians without disabilities.
Executive Order No. 92 directs agencies to step up recruitment of applicants with disabilities, as well as to collect data regarding applicants and employees who self-identify as having disabilities, to ensure their representation and equitable treatment in the state government workforce.
Employment First goes hand-in-hand with one of NCDHHS’ strategic priorities to create a strong and inclusive workforce that is ready for our next challenge and is reflective of our entire community.