Individuals with intellectual disabilities in the restaurant business: An exploratory study of attributes for success

ABSTRACT

The restaurant industry has been experiencing consistent growth for the past 15 years and the challenges to hire and retain traditional workers have never been greater. Since the restaurant industry offers career opportunities for individuals with different levels of skills, there could be other sources of non-traditional workers to recruit from. This research examined the views of individuals with intellectual disabilities working in a restaurant business about personal attributes for successful employment outcome. The researcher used a multi-case qualitative research design to collect and triangulate data from two individuals with intellectual disabilities and their manager.

KEYWORDS:

• Attributes
• mild intellectual disabilities
• perception
• sheltered employment