The first of its kind: AU hosts career fair for students and recent graduates with special needs

For many students with special needs, establishing a connection to the labour market can be challenging - especially without a student job. That is why AU, in collaboration with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC), is hosting a career fair tailored to students with neurodivergence or physical disabilities.

Jette Hammer, senior consultant at AU Career and responsible for the career fair, has been considering for years whether it would be possible to change the conditions at career fairs slightly so that they better accommodate students with special needs. They will now have a dedicated fair.

"This target group may have different needs than our other students when it comes to meeting companies," says Jette Hammer, explaining that the main purpose of the fair is to initiate a dialogue between students and the business and industry.

Therefore, they have asked companies in advance to consider how the students would fit into their organisations.

“When students enter the career fair, they will notice that companies are interested in them. They are ready to create flexible conditions in the workplace, allowing people with different abilities to thrive," Jette Hammer emphasises. 

Today, just under nine per cent of AU's students receive special support due to neurodiversity or physical disabilities.

COLOUR CODES, DOWNSIZING AND TRADE UNIONS

In an attempt to tailor the career fair to the needs of students, AU has scaled down the fair from the typical 50 companies to 10 and from 500-600 students to 100-200.

In addition, students can use a colour code on their name tags to signal to companies how they wish to be approached.

"You can choose to assign a colour if you don't want the company to reach out to you, and another colour if you want the company to reach out to you," says Jette Hammer about the initiative, which will hopefully help some of the students who find it difficult to start a conversation themselves.

Stakladen will also have an area where students can take a break and clear their minds before speaking with a new company. There will also be presentations by alumni with neurodivergence and physical disabilities, who will share their journeys into working life, as well as talks from company representatives and an unemployment insurance fund on how to communicate your disability when engaging with employers. This could be, for example, what rights and regulations apply.

FEWER HAVE STUDENT JOBS

Some of the challenges faced by students often stem from various diagnoses or physical impairments. According to Jette Hammer, this applies to the entire spectrum of neurodiversity, including diagnoses such as ADHD, autism, anxiety, and dyslexia, to name just a few. These conditions allow them to study under special conditions.

“We know that only a small proportion of students who receive special educational support have a student job during their studies,” says Jette Hammer, adding:

“This means that they have not gained the same professional experience as many other students. The career fair is an attempt to get them into dialogue with employers so that they can ask questions about things that are relevant to them when they imagine themselves in a work situation," Jette Hammer points out.

“IT’S REALLY ABOUT TIME”

One of the students who knows all about having a physical disability is Sophie Davies, currently in her ninth semester studying anthropology at AU. She has a congenital back condition, which, among other things, has meant that she hasn’t been able to manage a student job alongside her studies. Instead, she has received a supplement to her SU grant throughout her studies.

“I’m incredibly grateful for that, but the downside is that it makes it difficult to gain work experience during your studies. You end up a bit at the back of the queue," Sophie Davies says.

She is therefore positive about AU's new initiative, but at the same time emphasises that it is remarkable that this is the first time such an initiative has been launched.

“It’s really about time, but it’s positive that AU has realised that there is a need for this,” Sophie Davies emphasises. She hopes that the career fair can help create a framework for good, open dialogue between companies and students - and perhaps challenge some of the misconceptions that may exist about people with disabilities.

“I sometimes feel that it’s the perceptions of disability - rather than the disability itself - that most often stand in the way of one’s opportunities to work,” Sophie Davies points out.

THE JOB MARKET MUST BE ABLE TO INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE

At shipping and logistics company Unifeeder, they are also very positive about the new career fair. Especially in terms of helping companies and students get to know one another.

“I think the career fair is a great initiative because it gives us the chance to meet people who might be interested in working with us. Then you might find that we can easily do it together,” says Lykke Saksager Svare, Chief People Officer at Unifeeder, where she is responsible for securing labour, attracting talent, and strengthening employer branding, among other things.

She emphasises that the businesses, industries and job markets must be able to include more people than they do today. That is why she doesn’t doubt that the students can make a positive contribution to the company, which is headquartered in Aarhus.

“Having different perspectives on how to solve problems and innovate – that’s the way forward," says Lykke Saksager Svare, elaborating on her ideal scenario for the fair: “Ideally, we’d be hiring people from employee groups we haven’t previously included - individuals who can bring something we’re currently missing,” she concludes.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen