Alternative Workforce: People with Disabilities

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the July-August 2017 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

July-August 2017

A few years ago, a Harvard Business Review cover posed the question: What’s the secret to winning in the global economy? The answer: Talent.

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“Help Wanted” is not an uncommon sign these days in business parks. In fact, a recent talent shortage survey conducted by Manpower Group says 40% of employers globally are having difficulty filling positions. And a quarter of those companies can’t find enough available applicants if they can find any at all.

Worse yet, the problem may be more acute than it needs to be. Manpower Group also reports that only 36% of companies recruit outside their traditional talent pool while just 28% bother to explore alternative sourcing strategies.
Which raises the question: For distribution and manufacturing jobs, are employers looking for people in all the right places? The honest answer is: not always.

One of the most overlooked groups is people with disabilities. Often, this segment of the workforce is not even considered for supply chain work. That’s unfortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is the availability of workers with disabilities. According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is more than twice that of able bodied workers.

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