State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that "Americans with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workforce" will be the official theme for October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of more than 4,000 people with disabilities who went to work through the Georgia Department of Labor’s Vocational Rehabilitation program during the past year. 

 Commissioner Thurmond said, “The Georgia Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities have the support they need to enter the workforce and that they have equal access in the workplace. We know that providing job opportunities for people with disabilities can produce far-reaching, positive results for employers. Employers who hire people with disabilities find them to be hardworking, trustworthy and dedicated employees. What work-ready people with disabilities need most is a chance to show what they can do.”

The commissioner cited a study by the U. S. Department of Labor that reported that people with disabilities have disproportionately high unemployment rates – some range as high as 70 percent – when compared to non-disabled individuals. Far too many people with disabilities are not in the workforce – and not because they do not want to work or do not have the skills to work. National Disability Employment Awareness Month serves as a reminder of the availability of these workers and the importance and benefits of hiring them.

 One of these is Gladys Pryor, who always had problems finding and maintaining employment. Her vocational rehabilitation work team referred her for a community work adjustment opportunity at Morrison’s Cafeteria at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon.  Morrison often consults with vocational rehabilitation for help in hiring hard-working, dependable employees as administrative assistants, cashiers, cooks, dishwashers, dining room attendants,  and nutrition assistants. Morrison hired Pryor as a dining room attendant. To learn more about the Vocational Rehabilitation program in your area call (478) 751-6272.