The city of Madison is offering opportunities for Madison students with disabilities to get involved in the workforce starting this October, through the continuation of their Inspiring Student Professionals in Residence program, according to WMTV News.
The program is hosted by the City of Madison Disability Rights and Services Program and the Department of Human Resources, according to the City of Madison.
Occupational Accommodations Specialist in the City of Madison Human Resources, Leah Reinardy, told the Badger Herald about the program’s main objectives.
“Our main goal is to connect students with opportunities in the public sector. It’s critical to build your network as a young professional, and we also know that sometimes it can be more difficult to gain exposure to different career paths or to network if you have a disability,” Reinardy said.
City of Madison Disability Rights and Services Specialist Rebecca Hoyt said the program began as a means to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities and foster more inclusion and access for those interested.
INSPIRE has many initiatives to engage high school, college and technical school students, according to the program’s flyer. This includes on-the-job experience, exploration of career goals and workshops for important employment skills.
“Often there is a lot of pressure to commit to an employment goal through an education plan or a vocational plan, and we think that it’s really helpful for people to see what a day in the life is of someone doing that type of work,” Hoyt said.
The program hosts morning “workshops,” where students can ask questions to a disability resource panel, Hoyt said. This allows students to learn about education opportunities, the backgrounds of panel members and their experiences with disability accommodations.
The program also has a workshop on applying for jobs in the city, and afterward students spend the rest of the day with their staff host, who is assigned to them based on alliances among interests and career paths, according to Hoyt.
“On a personal level as someone with a disability, I think it’s really important to see what’s possible. I think often folks with disabilities are told what they can’t do, and aren’t given an opportunity to try and explore,” Hoyt said.
While Wisconsin has laws that allow people with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage. Madison does not participate in the sub-minimum wage employment, due to their belief that people with disabilities can and should work in competitive jobs, Hoyt said.
Reinardy expressed the program’s commitment to create a more equitable, diverse workforce in the city, saying that representation is really important in government.
For those who are interested in the INSPIRE program, applications can be found here and are due on October 17.
