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U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Accessing Opportunity |
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U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Accessing Opportunity |
An outstanding program that is currently in place in the Federal government is the Student Educational Employment Program. The program has two components: Student Temporary Employment and Student Career Experience (5 CFR 213.3202(a) and (b)). Both programs offer valuable, paid work experience to all students--high school, vocational and technical, associate degree, undergraduate, and graduate. Students may be employed year-round and receive a flexible schedule of work assignments. Federal employers should tailor the Student Educational Employment Program to attract students with disabilities to Federal employment.
OPM will continue promoting the Student Educational Employment Program to students, colleges and universities, and Federal managers and supervisors to attract students with disabilities to the Federal workforce.
OPM will serve as a clearinghouse for all students interested in Student Educational Employment Program opportunities.
OPM will work with appropriate organizations to identify information on accredited schools and programs with a high concentration of students with disabilities, and provide the information to departments and agencies.
OPM will establish master cooperative education agreements with schools in order for Federal employers to tailor them for specific uses.
Another source of potential employees with disabilities is the Presidential Management Intern (PMI) Program. The PMI Program is a two-year, entry-level career development and training program designed to attract to Federal service masters and doctoral students in a variety of academic disciplines. Students are nominated by their schools, and are invited to participate in an OPM-developed structured assessment process. Finalists are not guaranteed placement; they take an active role in finding a position in the Federal government. Upon successful completion of the two-year internship, PMI's are eligible for permanent status. In its information letters to colleges and universities concerning the PMI Program, OPM will reinforce its commitment to diversity, including the recruitment of persons with disabilities.
OPM will also continue outreach efforts through campus visits and targeting of professional organizations and publications serving the interests of people with disabilities.
Colleges and universities will be encouraged to identify students with disabilities who meet the criteria of the programs listed above.
Federal employers will ensure that persons with disabilities are made aware of, and have an equal opportunity to compete for, managerial and executive training or other career development opportunities. Self-nominations should be invited and encouraged, as well as nominations made by managers and supervisors.
Departments and agencies will review career development and related programs to make sure that no barriers exist for people with disabilities. If targeted recruitment is used to broaden the pool of candidates for these programs, include as part of that effort employees with disabilities and organizations that represent their interests.
Federal employers should establish formal mentoring programs, especially for participants of career development programs. Mentors serve as role models and act as personal advisors and confidants. They help build self-confidence; expand individual awareness, insight, and perspective about the organization; talk about performance expectations; and discuss developmental needs and how to obtain them.
Departments and agencies will develop training and other courses related to disability employment issues. These courses are helpful to all levels of agency management--from first-line supervisors to the Senior Executive Service. Issues that may be covered include disability culture awareness, eliminating attitudinal barriers, communication between disability and non-disability communities, and transforming organizations to accommodate cultural differences.
OPM, through the Federal Executive Institute and Management Development Centers, will conduct diversity training initiatives for senior management. This will improve understanding of the issues related to the employment of people with disabilities.
OPM will widely disseminate information on the Federal employment of people with disabilities, such as its People with Disabilities in the Federal Government--A Statistical Profile report, to all departments and agencies.
Departments and agencies are expected to regularly monitor their own workforce data, especially elements concerning workforce composition, as set out in EEOC Management Directives. Periodic surveying of the workforce, and evaluating the resulting data, will determine progress and successes. In turn, the data may be used to develop internal recruiting strategies and workforce planning initiatives.
In their performance management programs, Federal employers should review efforts and successes of their managers in diversity hiring. During performance reviews, efforts by the manager or supervisor to achieve diversity in his or her organization are evaluated--including efforts to hire people with disabilities. Open discussions of how to eliminate employment barriers are encouraged.
Federal employers are encouraged to recognize managers and supervisors whose recruiting, hiring, and promoting efforts of those with disabilities are commendable.
OPM, in its oversight role, and the EEOC, as the agency responsible for enforcing the Federal government's affirmative action and non-discrimination programs related to disability, will monitor Federal employer efforts in recruiting and employing people with disabilities.
1. An undue hardship is defined as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as the agency's size, financial resources, and the nature and structure of the operation. See EEOC's Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation, dated March 1, 1999. The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) operated by the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD) is an excellent technical assistance resource in the area of reasonable accommodation.
Page created 18 October 1999
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