Examining Employer Attitudes and Valued Employability Skills For Individuals With and Without Disabilities

This dissertation presents three separate studies designed to examine perspectives on employment for individuals with disabilities from employers and educators. First, a literature review was conducted on the studies published in the past decade to provide an update of employers' attitudes toward employees with disabilities. Investigated factors included studies? methodologies, research procedures, and employer characteristics. Research findings indicated that employers increasingly showed favorable attitudes toward individuals with disabilities and demonstrated willingness to hire workers with disabilities. Employers' previous experience with workers with disabilities was associated with positive employer attitudes. Secondly, 168 employers and 105 educators were surveyed regarding their perspectives on valued employability skills for entry-level employees with and without disabilities. The second study primarily focused on examining employers' perspectives of the most valued employability skill areas and specific employability skills as well as associated employer factors (i.e., respondents' genders and types of business/industry). Differences between employers' expectations for employees with disabilities and for those without disabilities were analyzed. The study results presented findings on important employability skills and discrepancies between rating for employees with and without disabilities were discussed, and reported the effects of respondent factors. Lastly, the third study investigated and compared both employers and educators' expectations on important employability skills. Study identified differences of ratings on important employability skills between employers and educators. Study also found out how they viewed differently on employability skills for employees with and without disabilities. To sum up, this dissertation revealed updated trends of employers' attitude toward workers with disabilities. It also identified critical employability skills viewed by employers and educators for entry-level workers with disabilities. The comparisons between employers and educators' perspectives provided information on what schools should include or emphasize in vocational preparation programs to prepare students with disabilities for future employment