One in three South Carolinians has a disability. Unfortunately, though, 60% of people with disabilities are unemployed. Our next guest says this is a workforce that employers shouldn’t dismiss. And that’s why her organization holds a one-day conference for business managers, executives, HR professionals, and service providers that is coming back to Columbia on October 7th. Mike Switzer interviews Marly Saade, with Able SC in Columbia, SC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Switzer: Hello and welcome to another edition of the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer. One in three South Carolinians has a disability. Unfortunately, though 60% of people with disabilities are unemployed. Our next guest says this is a workforce that employers should not dismiss. And that's why her organization holds a one-day conference for business managers, executives, HR professionals and service providers each year. And it's coming back to Columbia on October 7th. Marly Saade is with ABLESC and she joins us now by phone from her office in Colombia. Marly, welcome to the program.
Saade: Thank you so much for having me.
Switzer: So first of all, tell us about your organization.
Saade: Able South Carolina is a center for independent living. We are one of three in the state and we are the oldest disability led federally funded nonprofit. We are federally mandated to provide five core services of information referral, peer support, independent living, skills training, advocacy and information referral.
Switzer: Now, in my introduction I mentioned that around 60% of people with disabilities here in our state are actually unemployed. That doesn't mean that they are not employable. And I guess that's the whole reason for this upcoming summit, right? Tell us about this.
Saade: Absolutely. So the 11th annual Hire Me a Seat Employer Summit is coming up on October 7, 2026. The theme for it is Disability Made for Business. It will be located at the Dominion Energy VC Summer Nuclear Learning center in Jenkinsville, South Carolina from 10 to 3pm Essentially, the Employer Summit is a one-day conference for business managers, executives, HR professionals and disability service providers ready to strengthen the workforce and the economy by including people with disabilities.
Switzer: All right, can you walk us through some of the segments of the conference?
Saade: The conference has two tracks. There is a track for business professionals, managers, executives, where we will have two sessions. The first session is going to be HR myth busting. That is where we're going to have two distinct South Carolina business models. One being a manufacturer called Beyond Distilling and the other one being a large-scale financial institution called AgFirst. Ah, we're pairing them to dismantle the misconceptions that often prevent employers from hiring individuals with disabilities. The other session is our ADA ah, as a business tool. That one will be hosted by staff from Haynesworth, Sinclair and Boyd Law Firm and this session will demystify the Americans with Disabilities act and discuss how the ADA serves as a practical tool for employers and not just a compliance requirement for those needing Society for Human resource management and HR Ah, certification institute. We are approved for 2.5 credits.
Switzer: Will there be any keynote speakers?
Saade: Yes, we have a group keynote speaker session held by Able South Carolina CEO Kimberly Tussaud and Sam Slagle from Dominion Energy. And they're going to have a conversation, that is a little bit unique, called Kicking it with Kimberly as it mimics the no nonsense style of the monthly blog series written by our Able CEO, Kimberly.
Switzer: So, give us the top one or two most common misconceptions that businesses have about hiring disabled.
Saade: One of the biggest misconceptions is that it's too expensive and that is an attitudinal barrier. It's in fact, the opposite. Reasonable accommodations are mostly free. There's usually a one time cost of $500 or less. And this is per the Job Accommodation Network and most accommodations are a conversation. So how can we make your work environment a little bit more efficient for you? It's part of the interactive discussion. That's why it's called that. So, it's a little bit of a give and take between the business and, the employer and the employee to find out what works best. And it doesn't always have to mean a large cost or payment for the business.
Switzer: Well, Marly, thank you so much for spending time with us today.
Saade: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
Switzer: Marly Saade is with ABLESC, the host of the upcoming Employer Summit in Columbia on October 7th. We will have a link to her organization posted at our webpage so you can learn more. South Carolina public radio.org just look for our show. And remember, you can also find us wherever you find podcasts with the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer.
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