Transitioning from school to work shouldn’t require someone with a disability to fight twice as hard just to be evaluated on skill, said Chelsea Masson, university student and outreach coordinator at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, during a recent webinar hosted by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work.
“Barriers will show up when systems are designed for only one way of working. [I’ve walked] into workplaces where people have great intentions, but very little training and a lot of assumptions. Sometimes the conversation shifts to cost and risk before anyone will even consider what skills or value I might bring to their organization. That’s why I care so much about practical inclusion, not just the kind that lives in policies and procedures, but the kind that will show up in accessible hiring, onboarding and daily workplace culture.”
To ease the transition into the workplace for young workers with disabilities, employers can focus on accessible job postings, flexible hiring methods and normalizing adjustments without forcing disclosure, noted Masson.
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Ongoing support and check-ins can help make a workplace transition more sustainable, as people with disabilities don’t always know what they need on the first day, she added. “What works in one environment might not work in another, so regular check-ins and troubleshooting can prevent something small from becoming a real [issue].”
Supportive management can also make a major difference for employees with disabilities, said Angeli Mehrotra, equity, diversity and inclusion employment engagement specialist at the University of Guelph. She cited a key turning point in her career, when her manager taught her to view mistakes not as failures, but as opportunities for growth.
“A pivotal moment for me came when, instead of trying to fix a mistake on my own because I couldn’t, I had to reach out to my manager. She reminded me the goal is to learn from my mistakes, seek support and not repeat them — not to be perfect. Having managers, mentors and environments that allow room for learning made a significant difference in my journey. From that point on, I began requesting the accommodations I needed and reframing mistakes as part of growth.”
It’s important for employers to be intentionally inclusive from the start, noted Mehrotra, with the most effective strategies being based on individualized strengths and sustained across the work transition, rather than being time limited or transactional.
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“Success comes from meeting people where they are, while also addressing systemic barriers that shape their employment experiences. Employers who are more inclusive and accommodating have less turnover and often happier employees. Employers should take organizations up on the training they offer, including schools, not for profits, anything out there that will help them train and be more accommodating for everyone.”
Elmira Izadi, researcher at CCRW, highlighted a recent study by the organization that found young workers with disabilities cited networking and mentorship opportunities, transparent hiring and clear accommodation signals as some of their top needs. For many respondents, knowing accommodations would be supported made the difference between applying for a role and self-selecting out before the process even began.
The study also found there are a few clear areas where employer practices can make a meaningful difference, starting with recruitment. Organizations can reconsider experience requirements, especially for entry-level roles, to reduce unnecessary exclusion, as well as normalize conversations about accommodations early, rather than waiting for a problem to arise, said Izadi.
“Early career support is key for retention . . . and clear pathways for growth help people see a future in the organization, rather than feeling stuck in short-term roles. It’s important to emphasize that many of these practices are low cost and benefit all early career employees, but they can be especially impactful for new graduates with disabilities.”