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Fair Caters To Disabled

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By B.C. MANION

bmanion@tampatrib.com

Published: October 22, 2008

NORTH TAMPA - About 20 employers offering a broad range of jobs will meet with hundreds of job seekers next week at a fair designed specifically for people with disabilities.

This is the 21st year that The Mayor's Alliance for Persons with Disabilities has sponsored the event, said Ross Silvers, the city's liaison to the alliance.

The annual event, the largest job fair of its type in Tampa, brings together an array of employers offering jobs with a wide range of experience and pay levels.

Participating employers include hotels, banks, staffing agencies, theme parks, delivery services and call centers.

The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 29 at the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, 9215 N. Florida Ave.

The job fair aims to help reduce the number of people with disabilities who are unemployed, Silvers said.

Nationally, nearly 64 percent of people with disabilities did not have a job, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey. In Florida, the percentage without jobs is 63 percent, and in Tampa it is nearly 67 percent, the survey shows. The figures do not differentiate why people are unemployed or if they actively are seeking work.

There are a number of factors contributing to unemployment among people with disabilities, Silvers said. Transportation, for instance, is often a roadblock.

Numerous surveys say the biggest obstacle is attitudinal, Silvers said. In some cases, employers don't view a person with disabilities as a viable worker. In other instances, people with disabilities can lack confidence in their own abilities, he said.
Preconceived notions often are made both by employers and potential workers, Silvers said.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507.

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