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Alabama Workers With Disabilities

May 14th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

One of the newest federal agencies has joined one of the largest human resource professional associations.

The goal: to provide more work for Alabama workers with disabilities in the 21^st-century workplace.

The agency is ODEP, or the Office of Disability Employment Policy. The association is SHRM, or the Society of Human Resource Managers. Together their mission is to improve training, recruitment, and education of workers with disabilities, and promote dialogue on the hiring of persons with disabilities. It is the first such alliance for ODEP.

The job prospects have improved recently for disabled workers, according to ODEP. Yet they still represent a large talent base that is going unused by the labor market.

Thanks to this new partnership, Alabama workers with disabilities will find more training, outreach, technical assistance, and education in their futures. Information, access to resources, and guidance should all be enhanced by the new teamup.

“This alliance formalizes the relationship we have had with SHRM,” according to Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, “benefiting SHRM as it serves its membership with the resources ODEP brings to the table and offering ODEP the opportunity for broader contact with human resource professionals.”

What are the two organizations involved, and what are their missions?

The federal Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is a Labor Department policy agency. It was formed with the purpose of making certain that people with disabilities are fully involved in the 21^st century workforce. It was formed in 2001 when Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor, gave the authority and responsibility for the mission to the assistant secretary for disability employment policy.

The Society of Human Resource Professionals (SHRM) was formed in 1948. With 205,000 members, 550 affiliated chapters, and membership in more than 100 countries, it is the world’s largest association of human resource managers. Its purpose is to provide key resources to its professional base.