Employers’ Perspectives of Important Skills for Employees With Disabilities: The Entry-Level Employability Skills and Behaviors Scale

Abstract

Achieving successful employment outcomes is critical for individuals with disabilities (IWD). Employers’ perspectives toward employability skills for entry-level employees with disabilities is an important factor in employment rates. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Entry-Level Employability Skills and Behaviors (EL-ESB) Scale, a measure of the most important employability skills for entry-level employees with disabilities according to employers. Analyses explored and confirmed the scale’s factor structure, measured internal consistency, and examined group differences based on geographic location and business size. Results indicated evidence of a five-factor structure and acceptable internal consistency. Implications for research and practice are discussed, including the need for further replication research and the scale’s potential utility in informing transition programs of the most important skills to teach students with disabilities.

Keywords

disability employment career exploration career readiness workforce development employer perspectives

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