An Assessment of the Influence of Disability Legislation Awareness on Employability of Persons with Disabilities in Post-Secondary Institutions in Kirinyaga County, Kenya.

Abstract

Globally, unemployment and underemployment of persons with disabilities is a major concern. A World Bank report shows that 20% of the world’s poor are persons with disabilities, 60% of them living in developing countries, such as Kenya. Lack of inclusion, and not disability, contributes to this poverty. Despite the existence of several disability legisla tions, unemployment of persons with disabilities still remains a challenge. The objective of the study was to establish the extent to which disability legislation awareness influences employability of persons with disabilities in Post-Secondary institutions in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The research used staff from five post-secondary institutions that were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling technique while five Human Resource Managers were selected using purposeful sampling. The study adopted descriptive research design. Questionnaires were used to collect data and Cronbach alpha coefficient employed to test reliability. Collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science. The assessment of the influence of disability legislation awareness on employability of persons with disabili ties was established through a multiple regression model. The study findings established that the organizations hardly conducted capacity building for staff on disability legislation, there was little or nonexistence of disability policies in the institutions. Moreover, respondents were unaware of how to handle persons with disabilities at workplace. The study concluded that legislation awareness influences employability of persons with disabilities positively because it assists employers develop compliance toward disability inclusion in workplace