5 places to hire disabled people online
Despite more than 15% of disabled people holding a bachelor’s degree, the disability employment gap still remains. You’re nearly as likely to be unemployed as employed if you’re disabled. It’s a talent pool that has been left unexplored by employers thus far, and it’s unsurprising. A lot of current recruitment tools are inaccessible.
To help you start your journey, we’ve gathered together five key places you can find disabled talent.
Here’s where to connect with disabled talent online.
1. Evenbreak
Founded in 2011, Evenbreak advocates for the creation of an inclusive workplace. Under the motto ‘Talent First’, they work with a wide range of inclusive employers to provide job opportunities for disabled people who are seeking a chance to shine brightly in the workplace.
They have a network and a well-developed support system
Evenbreak has already been around for 11 years. It has developed a massive network of connections and is well-known among both the disabled community and the business sector.
Partners include a number of institutions and established businesses such as the Financial Times, UNIQLO, and UNICEF.
There are lots of resources too including a detailed blog covering different case studies of inclusion in the workplace.
Competition is high. Due to the huge size of the platform and the large number of companies involved, it can be hard for start-ups or small companies to find successful candidates.
A number of large enterprises are also looking for candidates on Evenbreak, which might lower the chance of small firms hiring talent.
2. With Not For
With Not For is a newer business in this area. They coach and support disabled talent, much like us at SIC, and collaborate with employers to integrate disabled people into their workplace.
Designed as a more personalised match-making platform
With Not For has an extremely personalised procedure for disabled employees and their employers. The way their system works is for candidates and employers to drop their requests first, and then their team will deal with each case specifically and try to provide personalised opinions and customisations for each situation.
The application process at With Not For is quite beneficial for employers as it is more bespoke.
Founded in 2021, With Not For is a small team with big ambition.
Their platform is still in development, meaning a lot of their services are not automated.
3. SIC
Well, we’re pretty sure you know a bit about SIC but you might now know what services we can offer when it comes to finding disabled talent.
As well as working with businesses, we also do a lot of work with disabled people who are finding jobs. Last year we launched the SIC Learning Hub, a free and accessible e-learning for disabled and neurodivergent professionals. The four courses we have available are:
An Introduction to Work: Our first course is all about accessing the workplace and is designed for those of us who are entering the workplace for the first time, or are re-entering the workplace after absence.
An Introduction to Freelance and Entrepreneurship: Often entrepreneurship is more accessible to us as we can build something that works for us, but where do you start? This programme covers the nitty-gritty of setting up a business.
An Introduction to Community Management: How accessible is a career in community management or social media? Find out from disabled and neurodivergent professionals who have carved out careers online.
An Introduction to Writing and Journalism: Whether you’re open to a career in writing or journalism, or want to explore this as a freelance opportunity, this module is all about creating great written content.
We can - and do - connect businesses with this disabled talent. Sharing potential roles with our network (which just keeps growing due to our free e-learning!) and also having organisations sponsor events such as our career clinics.
We also have a substantial network of alumni with whom we have already trained in marketing roles for at least six months.
We offer training, workshops, and consulting to businesses who want to build an inclusive work culture. You can find out about all the ways of working with us here.
We also produce monthly magazine articles that provide information regarding how to hire disabled talent and support the disabled community. Plus, why not sign up to our mailing list to receive our free 100-page toolkit (RRP £50)? You'll also be the first to know about webinars and events for business leaders.
4. Radical Recruit
Radical Recruit is a platform that aims to help people with barriers to entering the workforce and empower them with choices. Radical Recruit has a wide range of services available, including finding jobs for people who are marginalised by society, helping businesses design and meet CSR and diversity pledges, and increasing business productivity.
A great job board function
Like Evenbreak, Radical Recruit has its own job board. Employers can directly advertise their jobs directly to really diverse talent.
Radical Recruit isn’t just designed with disability in mind. It’s designed for all protected characteristics, meaning it provides an intersectional view of the candidate market.
Their team represents a range of marginalised groups themselves which means they are able to support employers and candidates throughout the process.
Plus, after a successful placement, they keep in touch with both parties to ensure long-term placements and open conversations.
5. Copy Club
Copy Club is a job site providing tips, job vacancies and support to copywriters and marketers. It has a large slack group chat with more than 1,000 marketing professionals to answer any questions members have, provides weekly marketing tips and skills through workshops and provides a platform to hire marketing talent.
A huge pool of talent that is looking for remote and hybrid roles
Currently, the team has a community of over 4,000 marketing professionals, which means when your request to hire is sent out, thousands of marketers will immediately receive the notification. The platform will then see which candidates make the best pick and introduce those they deem fit to the employers.
Of course, the site is not specifically designed just for disabled people, but the roles they advertise do lend themselves to appealing to a huge part of the community.
It can often be difficult for many disabled people to access workplaces in real life, so there’s a high chance you’ll find disabled talent.
Copy Club is of course geared at content marketers, but similar communities exist across a range of skills from digital and SEO to administrative support. These more bespoke communities are a great place to find high-quality candidates.
Final remarks
This list is by no means exhaustive, nor does it reflect that disabled talent are not also on standard job boards like LinkedIn. However, creating direct links with disabled talent through bespoke services will make your life significantly easier.
Creating a diverse workforce is amazing for innovation, helping you to create an innovative and creative business.
Written by Kalos Lau