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ODEP News Release: [06/25/2003]
Contact Name:
Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-7880
More Than 300 Students With Disabilities Placed In
Jobs Through Labor Department Workforce Recruitment Program
WASHINGTON -- Maryland leads the nation in the number of
college students and recent graduates with disabilities who have been placed in
summer and permanent jobs since the Labor Department's Workforce Recruitment
Program (WRP) was announced in mid April, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao
said today. Overall, the WRP has placed more than 305 students with
disabilities in jobs throughout the country, she added.
Besides Maryland, areas that have placed the most students through
WRP include New York, Virginia, Texas, the District of Columbia, California,
Pennsylvania, and Florida. Also according to WRP statistics, about one-third of
the students placed in jobs under the Labor Department program identified
themselves as "minority."
"President Bush, through his New Freedom Initiative, has
placed a priority on recognizing the untapped employment potential of Americans
with disabilities, and the need to expand job opportunities available to them,"
Secretary Chao said. "The Workforce Recruitment Program is succeeding in that
mission and giving students with disabilities the break they need to launch
successful working careers."
Roy Grizzard, assistant secretary of labor for the Office of
Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), which helps administer the program, said,
"WRP is a key resource for potential employers to find qualified students and
recent graduates who are eager to enter the workforce and prove what they can
do."
ODEP, in co-sponsorship with the Department of Defense, offers
employers a complimentary CD-ROM database of qualified students by field of
study, state or school, in disciplines ranging from computer sciences and
business, to communications engineering and office administration. Searches
generate candidate profiles, academic and demographic data, and contact
information from applications recruited by the WRP from more than 180 colleges
and universities in over 40 states and territories. The CD-ROM and additional
information are available from
www.wrpjobs.com,
or by contacting ODEP at (202) 693-7880.
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