The Equal Opportunity and Compliance (EOC) Office at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) held its first ever “Reverse Job Fair” Monday, December 9. The fair brought together more than 70 people, with the goal of helping match people with disabilities with temporary job opportunities at employers such as UNC-CH. Those in attendance included hiring managers and human resource representatives from UNC-CH, as well as community organizations such as Vocational Rehabilitation, UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health, Project SEARCH, OE Enterprises, Inc., TEACCH Employment Services, and B3 Coffee. These organizations provide training in employable skills to individuals with disabilities to aid them in obtaining temporary positions. Vocational Rehabilitation offers an intern program, where individuals with disabilities learn employable skills and in turn have the opportunity to be placed in temporary positions. Vocational Rehabilitation pays for the intern’s salary for up to four months.
The Reverse Job Fair is one of the initiatives from the Count Me In Campaign. The Campaign, which was launched in April 2019, focuses on increasing the number of disabled employees and self-identification of employees with disabilities already at UNC-CH. The campaign helps us meet our compliance obligations, but more importantly, helps to make Carolina a more diverse and welcoming place to work.
The EOC Office plans to hold additional Reverse Job Fairs in 2020.