UMass Medical School’s Work Without Limits initiative will hold its second annual “Raise the Bar Hire!” Conference and Career Fair at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood Oct. 30–31. Work Without Limits aims to increase the employment rate of people with disabilities.
Statistics show that people with disabilities face much lower rates of employment than those without disabilities. In Massachusetts, only 33 percent of working age people with disabilities are employed versus 76 percent of people without disabilities, according to the American Community Survey.
The conference will be co-hosted by Laura Stout, director of Contract Operations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; Patrick Flavin, assistant vice president and director of Workforce Initiatives at The TJX Companies; and Paul Francisco, vice president of Workforce Development Programs and Global Inclusion at State Street Corporation.
Keynote addresses will be presented by Kathleen Martinez, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, and John Robinson, managing partner and CEO of Our Ability, Inc.
The conference welcomes employers, service providers, state agencies and people with disabilities and their families. Employment service providers and state agencies can find out how to build and maintain relationships with employers. People with disabilities, and their family members, can learn what employers look for in candidates and the best ways for job seekers to position themselves in today’s workplace. Employers can learn about promising practices from other leading employers and connect with community resources and qualified candidates.
Conference sponsors include Boston Children’s Hospital, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, National Grid, Seven Hills Foundation and Affiliates, TD Bank and TJX Companies.
A statewide network of employers and partners, Work Without Limits is part of the Disability, Health and Employment Policy unit within the Commonwealth Medicine division of UMass Medical School.
