Employers' Perspectives of Important Skills for Employees With Disabilities: The Entry-Level Employability Skills and Behaviors Scale.

This article focuses on the development and validation of the Entry-Level Employability Skills and Behaviors (EL-ESB) Scale, designed to measure employer perspectives on the most important employability skills for entry-level employees with disabilities (IWD). Using survey data from 1,561 U.S. employers, the study confirmed a five-factor structure—Self-Management Skills, Personal Attributes, Higher Order Thinking Skills, Basic Skills, and Interpersonal Skills—with acceptable internal consistency across diverse business sizes, geographic regions, and respondent roles. The findings suggest the EL-ESB Scale is a reliable tool that can inform secondary transition programs, vocational rehabilitation, and policy by aligning skill development with employer expectations to improve employment outcomes for IWD. Limitations include potential sampling biases and the need for further replication and qualitative research to deepen understanding of employer priorities across different contexts.