Small changes, big impact,
11 August 2026
Understanding disability and accessibility can strengthen careers support.
One in six New Zealanders are disabled. The New Zealand Disability Strategy 2026-2030 highlights that barriers continue to exist for many disabled people and their whānau.
Career practitioners are often involved at important decision-making points in a person's life, whether that's exploring study options, considering a career change, looking for work or planning future goals. Small changes in the way practitioners engage with disabled people can have a big impact on how supported, understood and included someone feels throughout their journey.
Understanding disability is an important part of providing inclusive career support. Disability can be visible or invisible, and every person's experiences, strengths and support needs are different. Building awareness of disability and accessibility can help practitioners better understand the barriers people may encounter and the opportunities available to them.
To support this understanding, we are strengthening information to help career practitioners support disabled people. The information explores topics such as the social model of disability, reasonable accommodations and strengths-based approaches, and includes links to organisations, tools and additional information. This information was developed for the Career Practice Hub by CDANZ member, Eleanor Blakey.
Explore the information on the Hub to learn more about how accessible information, inclusive support and a better understanding of disability can help people move successfully from education and training into work.
Careers support for disabled people