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<a href="https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2024/05/01/disability-in-launches-new-career-accelerator-program-for-disabled-professionals?">
https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2024/05/01/disability-in-launches-new-career-accelerator-program-for-disabled-professionals?</a>
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<h1><b>Disability:IN launches new career accelerator program for disabled
professionals</b></h1><br><br>
<br>
<h2><b>The organization is partnering with employers including Blue
Origin, Dell, and Pfizer to help employees with disabilities advance
their careers.</b></h2><br><br>
May 1, 2024<br>
<img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/bl383u0v/production/8f2b5667379e80e3530eae58b71acb895b73ac73-7000x3940.jpg?rect=14,0,6972,3940&w=430&h=243&q=80&fit=max&auto=format&dpr=3" width=6972 height=3940 alt="article cover">
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Vertigo3d/Getty Images<br><br>
Disability:IN, an organization that advocates for disability inclusion in
business, has announced the launch of a new career accelerator, the
organization told HR Brew.<br><br>
The Early Career Talent Accelerator is a 12-week development program that
aims to help disabled professionals grow within their current companies.
The pilot cohort includes 25 employees from 23 participating employers,
including Blue Origin, Dell, Neiman Marcus Group, and Pfizer. All
employees were nominated by their employers or supervisors.<br><br>
The accelerator is broken into three sections, focused on developing
oneself, skills, and others as a leader.<br><br>
“Getting employees in the door—that’s only half the battle,” Jill
Houghton, CEO of Disability:IN, told HR Brew. “You want to retain,
develop, advance, and grow your talent. And that should include your
talent that’s disabled.”<br><br>
Just 5% of the 485 organizations on the
<a href="https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2024/02/23/world-of-hr-disability-equality-index-expands-globally">
Disability Equality Index</a> (the organization’s annual list of best
employers for disabled workers) offer employee retention and advancement
programs specifically geared toward disabled talent. Employers
participating in the accelerator program told Disability:IN that they
wanted to provide their disabled employees with development
opportunities, but weren’t sure how.<br><br>
The accelerator curriculum was developed by disabled professionals and
based on corporate advancement programs like the Executive Leadership
Council’s Mid-Level Managers’ Symposium for Black
professionals.<br><br>
The program will finish in July, at Disability:IN’s annual conference,
where participants can network and share what they’ve learned. The
organization will keep in touch with participants after the program ends,
according to Houghton.<br><br>
“We will continue post-program to do check-ins with individuals at the
12 month, at the 24 month [mark], and follow these individuals on their
journey and continue to engage with them and their companies,” she
said.<br><br>
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