Chapter 1: Disability and Employability in Higher Education Research – A Comprehensive Review

This chapter focuses on the nature of research activity on disability and employability in higher education (HE) and understanding the role of universities and industry in supporting employability for disabled students. Based on the comprehensive review for 2001–2023, we review publications from Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and the Education Resources Information Centre. This expansive review addresses the gap by analysing studies on disability and employability in international HE from a comparative lens. It demonstrates that exclusionary practices in the labour market and university limit disabled students to access equitable workplace experience. These students often lack opportunities that allow them to accumulate work experience whilst studying. The complex nature of developing inclusive employability for disabled students requires transformative structural practices that support holistic career and employability development. The chapter concludes that inclusive HE is necessary to strengthen employability for disabled students. The chapter offers recommendations that can be implemented in policy and practice to promote inclusive HE that facilitates university-workplace transitions.