A 2024 Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County job fair. A woman assists a man in a motorized wheelchair with his employment application.
The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County is holding a March 1 job fair for job seekers who are interested in working with people with disabilities. The nonprofit will also hold a job fair March 6th for job seekers with disabilities. This is a 2024 photo of an ECCC job fair for people with disabilities. Credit: Photo courtesy of Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County

Overview:

The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County, which has a March 1 hiring event to recruit job seekers interested in working with people with disabilities, will also hold job fairs over the next few months for people with disabilities.

More than 20 local employers are seeking to hire people interested in working with people with disabilities. 

The March 1 job fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio, 6393 Oak Tree Blvd. in Independence.

Register for the job fair: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LH73NMZ. Email questions about the event to: [email protected].

Employers include the Cleveland Sight Center, the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Goodwill and Vocational Services Unlimited. Positions available include teachers, drivers, job coaches and case managers. Employers are hiring for full-time and part-time positions, summer employment and internships.

‘Dire need’ for workplace support 

The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County (ECCC), which is focused on finding employment for people with disabilities, is holding the job fair. The nonprofit educates employers about the value of hiring employees with disabilities and works with businesses to get them hired.

Many employers have found workers with disabilities to be conscientious employees, said Jared Daly, the ECCC’s founder and facilitator. He said they are often successful at work and in other areas of their lives because they have support from workers in some of the positions employers showcased at the job fair.

“There is a dire shortage of workers who support people with disabilities in their work settings, living environments and recreational settings,” Daly, who is also regional coordinator of workforce development for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, told Signal Cleveland in an email. “We are working to try and highlight the careers in supporting people with disabilities at this event and really focusing on the flexibility and reward these careers give.”

People with disabilities can find jobs at hotel and sports venues

The ECCC also holds hiring events to connect workers with disabilities with employers, including one March 6 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Huntington Convention Center, 300 Lakeside Ave., Cleveland. The job fair will include  employers from hotels and from sports and entertainment venues. The types of jobs include: housekeeping, laundry, front desk reception, cooks and bartenders, security and maintenance workers. Register for the hiring event: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R7PLHTV

Since 2019, the ECCC has helped place people with disabilities in 1,000 jobs, Daly said.  Workers with disabilities have a high unemployment rate. In 2023, the latest available annual number, the unemployment rate for people with a disability was 7.2%, about twice as high as the rate for people without disabilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Daly said the ECCC views workers with disabilities as an “untapped workforce.” 

“Not only do these [hiring] events help fill much-needed roles for employers, they give people with disabilities the opportunity to contribute to the local economy,” Daly wrote. “This gives people with disabilities the ability to live independently in the community and be a part of the community to the fullest extent.”

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Economics Reporter (she/her)
Economics is often thought of as a lofty topic, but it shouldn’t be. My goal is to offer a street-level view of economics. My focus is on how the economy affects the lives of Greater Clevelanders. My areas of coverage include jobs, housing, entrepreneurship, unions, wealth inequality and pocketbook issues such as inflation.