Making Space for Disabled Professionals
Summary
In 2025, Making Space committed to launching the Making Space Ascend Program to support 10,000 Disabled professionals in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the United States to secure sustainable, competitive employment by the end of 2027. This commitment will be implemented through a multi-pronged strategy, including an on-demand learning and talent platform, in-person programming, and partnerships with at least 30 major employers to co-design inclusive hiring pathways. Making Space will also enhance and scale its proprietary AI tool that translates lived experience into job-ready, market-aligned skills and connects participants to pre-qualified employment opportunities. Making Space will also provide consulting and data reporting to help employers improve retention, self-identification, and inclusive policy outcomes. Making Space’s partners on this commitment will co-design accessible learning experiences, open positions for talent placement, and invest in training and recruitment initiatives. Employers will also commit internal teams to complete Disability Confidence training, impacting 100,000 employees.
Approach
The Making Space Ascend Program will support 10,000 disabled professionals in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the United States on their journey to securing sustainable, competitive employment by the end of 2027. This commitment will be implemented through a multi-pronged strategy that includes expanding an on-demand learning and talent platform, deepening in-person programming, and partnering with at least 30 major employers to co-design inclusive hiring pathways. Making Space will also enhance and scale its proprietary AI tool, which translates lived experience into job-ready, market-aligned skills and connects participants to pre-qualified employment opportunities.
This approach is grounded in systems-change, serving both talent and employers. Disabled job seekers receive accessible, career-aligned education, skills training, and financial guidance. Employers have access to proprietary, scalable disability inclusion training, accessible systems design, and tailored talent pipelines built through job and company-specific education.
Making Space brings deep expertise in accessibility, inclusive employment design, and workforce development. Their team includes disabled professionals, technologists, and educators who have built partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. Their proprietary technology integrates with employer Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) , streamlining hiring processes and surfacing pre-qualified Disabled talent. They also provide consulting and data reporting to help employers improve retention, self-identification, and inclusive policy outcomes.
Making Space’s partners, including employers, funders, and training collaborators, will contribute by co-designing accessible learning experiences, opening up job roles for talent placement, and investing in training and recruitment initiatives. Employers will also commit internal teams to complete Making Space’s Disability Confidence education, impacting 100,000 employees.
This commitment is an acceleration of a replicable, scalable model for inclusive employment that closes persistent opportunity gaps and unlocks economic mobility for disabled professionals.
Action Plan
In Q2 2026, Making Space will secure funding to expand its Ascend program, onboard 10 new employer partners, and begin outreach to community-based organizations to increase talent engagement.
In Q3 2026, the organization will launch an expanded Disability Confidence training library, aiming to train 5,000 employer staff. The first five job and company-specific learning pathways will go live, and 1,000 Disabled professionals will begin upskilling. Income tracking and placement monitoring systems will also be introduced.
By Q4 2026, Making Space will conduct pilot assessments, publish its first inclusive hiring case study, train 10,000 more staff, and support 500 disabled professionals with ABLE account coaching.
In Q1 2027, employer partners will grow to 20, with new regional cohorts launching across additional states. Course content will begin translation for global access, focusing on Europe, Middle East and African (AMEA) , Latin America (LATAM) , and Asia-Pacific (APAC) . An additional 2,500 participants will enroll.
In Q2 2027, longitudinal tracking of self-ID, retention, and wage data will begin. A second round of case studies will be published.
In Q3 2027, 40,000 more employer staff will be trained and 1,500 disabled professionals placed in competitive roles. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) integrations with three new employer partners will launch.
By Q4 2027, 6,000 disabled professionals will be supported. In-platform ABLE account tools will roll out, and an independent impact evaluation will be conducted.
By mid-2028, over 100,000 employer staff will be trained. Making Space will formalize a scalable model, publish its outcomes report, and release an “Inclusive Hiring Playbook.” By Q4 2028, the program will support 10,000 disabled professionals and host a national summit to share impact and promote replication.
Background
Disabled people face persistent and disproportionate barriers to employment and long-term economic stability. In the United States alone in 2024, only 22.7% of Disabled people were employed, compared to 65.5% of nondisabled people https://www.bls.gov/news.release/disabl.nr0.htm. The unemployment rate for Disabled job seekers was 7.5%, nearly twice the rate of 3.8 percent for nondisabled people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025) .
For those receiving disability benefits, employment can pose a serious financial risk. Having just $2,000 in assets can result in the loss of essential supports such as healthcare. This creates a “benefits cliff” that discourages many from pursuing meaningful work, even when qualified. As a result, many individuals are forced to choose between maintaining essential benefits and pursuing a career, which reinforces long-term cycles of poverty.
Financial tools like ABLE accounts (Achieving a Better Life Experience) offer important safeguards, allowing Disabled individuals to save for the future without jeopardizing their eligibility for public benefits. However, despite nearly 8 million people currently being eligible for ABLE accounts, and an estimated 6 million more set to qualify by 2026, including 1 million veterans, uptake remains low https://acl.gov/news-and-events/acl-blog/conversation-about-able-accounts-jody-ellis-director-able-national. Many potential beneficiaries are unaware of these resources or lack the support needed to navigate enrollment.
In addition to financial disincentives, disabled people face systemic barriers in accessing employment. These include bias in hiring, limited access to high-quality education and training, and a lack of social capital, such as professional networks, mentorship, and connections to informal job pipelines.
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
Making Space is looking for community partners, including grassroots organizations, advocacy groups, and service providers, to ensure they are reaching as many disabled people as possible, particularly those who have been historically excluded from traditional employment pipelines. These partners will play a critical role in outreach, trust-building, and connecting individuals to education and employment support.They also welcome additional employers who are committed to inclusive hiring and want to access their growing pool of qualified disabled professionals.
In addition, Making Space is seeking to partner with disability services offices at colleges and universities to support disabled students and recent graduates. By aligning with post-secondary institutions, they can work to equip graduates with the tools, confidence, and connections they need to successfully transition into the workforce, while also helping institutions meet their own goals.,At the center of this offering is the Making Space platform, a talent acquisition and learning experience platform built by and for disabled professionals. The platform provides accessible, career-aligned courses, AI-driven skill translation tools that convert lived experience into market-ready skills, connections to pre-qualified candidates and integrations with employers’ Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) .
In addition to the platform itself, Making Space offers topic expertise in disability-inclusive design, best practices for building equitable recruitment and retention pipelines, and employer facing training for teams across departments from leadership to talent acquisition and hiring managers. Participating organizations will also gain access to a community of practice including cross-sector partners who are committed to advancing disability inclusion, with opportunities to co-design learning pathways, pilot inclusive hiring initiatives, and contribute to a shared library of case studies and success metrics.