Workforce Recruitment Program

The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP) is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Diversity Management & Equal Opportunity (ODMEO) manage the program, which continues to be successful with the participation of many other federal agencies and sub-agencies. Since the program's expansion in 1995, over 6,000 students and recent graduates have received temporary and permanent employment opportunities through the WRP.

In the fall of 2011, 100 recruiters from over 40 federal agencies and sub-agencies visited over 270 college and university campuses nationwide, resulting in a database containing application information on more than 2,200 candidates with disabilities. The candidates represent all majors, and range from college freshmen to graduate students and law students. This database is currently available for use by federal employers. During the summer of 2011 over 580 candidates were reported as being hired, the majority in summer jobs, in 40 different agencies and sub-agencies.

New User?

The WRP system supports several different types of users. To learn how you can gain access to the WRP system, click on the link that best describes you or your organization:

Employer
School
Student
Employers

Employers in the federal government can request a password to gain access to the WRP database. If you are an employer in the private sector, you can take advantage of the WRP through the Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) at www.askEARN.org, call 855-275-3276, or visit the WRP page directly at http://askearn.org/r-wrp.cfm.

Schools

The WRP is run on an annual basis and requires applicants to have an interview with one of our recruiters during an on-campus recruitment visit. The interviews take place during the fall of each year. To be eligible for the WRP, candidates must be current, full-time undergraduate or graduate students with a disability, or have graduated within one year of the release of the database each December. For the 2013 WRP release, interviews will be held in the fall of 2012. A candidate who graduated in October, 2011 or later would still be eligible to participate. Students must be U.S. citizens.

Schools that would like to participate in the WRP must be accredited by one of the accrediting agencies recognized by the US Department of Education, and must provide a one-day schedule of at least eight eligible candidates for our recruiter to interview. We do not work directly with individual candidates, but rather work through points of contact at the schools. If your school is interested in participating in the WRP please send an email with your contact information to the WRP Coordinator at wrp@dol.gov. Information is sent out each year in the spring to register for our recruitment schedule for the following fall.

Students

To be eligible for the WRP, candidates must be current, full-time undergraduate or graduate students with a disability, or have graduated within one year of the release of the database each December. For the 2013 WRP release, interviews will be held in the fall of 2012. A candidate who graduated in October, 2011 or later would still be eligible to participate. Candidates must be U.S. citizens. If you are an eligible candidate, share this information with your school's disability services or career services coordinator, and ask him or her to contact the WRP Coordinator at wrp@dol.gov. Please understand that we work directly with college coordinators, and cannot respond to inquiries from individuals.

Resources

Please click here to view available resources regarding employment of people with disabilities. Check back on a regular basis for additional links and resources.

Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities (LEAD) Resources from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:

http://archive.eeoc.gov/initiatives/lead/resources.html

Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP):

http://www.dol.gov/odep/

Disability.gov website: http://www.disability.gov/

Contact Us

You can contact us at wrp@dol.gov.

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Copyright 2012 Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP)

Cosponsored by the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The information contained herein is for United States Government use only and should be treated as privileged information. Safeguard the confidential nature of this data.