Saint Petersburg College (SPC) has introduced a Student Employment Project to help disabled graduates find employment opportunities matching their skill sets.
"All my students are just as qualified as any other student sitting in the classroom. They wouldn't be here if they weren't capable. I never want a company to hire one of my students because they have a disability. I want them to get the job because they are the best qualified," said Kelley Ferranti, head of the Student Employment Project
Ferranti said that most of her students have been never employed by a company and majority of them don't believe that they can actually find a job.
Countrywide statistics reveal that only 21 percent of adults with disabilities are employed, and at St. Petersburg, only 12 percent of disabled graduates in 2009 were able to find work.
SPC enrolls around 1,300 disabled students every year. Recently, Ferranti helped wheelchair-using student obtain an internship program.
SPC's Student Employment Project is funded by a three-year, $200,000 grant from the Able Trust.
Susanne Homant, president and chief operating officer of the trust said that it is not easy to navigate a college campus when a person is in a wheelchair and to go through the admission procedure and work with professors if he/she has a learning disability.
Ferranti helps such students to fill their resumes, offers mock interviews and assists them in seeking jobs, internships and employment opportunities.
