BACKGROUND: State vocational rehabilitation agencies (SVRAs) have been developing business relations capacity for decades, as part of a dual-customer approach. The literature to date explores "demand-side" strategies in VR, but little is known about what infrastructure is being built to sustain demand-side approaches. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe SVRAs' efforts to build capacity in business relations through current policies and practice, staffing and organizational structures, marketing and outreach, and other related strategies. METHODS: Researchers conducted a web-based survey of the population of SVRAs (n = 80). The target respondent was the National Employment Team (NET) "single point of contact" for business relations activities at the SVRA. RESULTS: Sixty-seven SVRAs responded to the survey. Results indicate that SVRAs are providing a wide range of services to businesses and engaging in a wide variety of business relations activities. VR has an infrastructure to serve businesses as customers, as supported by data reported about business relations staffing patterns, organizational structures, and qualifications of business relations staff. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide important insights for developing a baseline measure of VR business relations capacity, which should be considered one element of the dual-customer approach and of demand-side strategies in general.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to give voice to the experiences of women with disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) who have accessed employment, to highlight the structural barriers to employment and to identify the skills they used to obtain work. Design/methodology/approach This is a phenomenological study conducted in KSA. Themes from the interviews of women with disabilities were explored using Yosso’s (2005) cultural capital conceptual framework. Findings The participants had work and career aspirations, persisted in their job search, navigated barriers, and had familial support and emotional support from their social networks, but lacked instrumental assistance in accessing work. KSA policies to support women and people with disabilities to obtain employment are not adequately enforced, and negative attitudes toward people with disabilities are widespread. Research limitations/implications The sample size is small, but these preliminary findings justify the necessity for additional research and policy development specifically focused on women with disabilities. Practical implications There is an urgent need for existing policy enforcement and a need for a national strategy promoting the employment of women and the needs of women with disabilities should be specifically included in this agenda. Originality/value There is no extant research or policy literature regarding employment and women with disabilities in the KSA. This study applies Yosso’s (2005) theory of cultural capital to women with disabilities, demonstrating its applicability outside of race/ethnicity studies and suggests that “community” is not an essential factor in building employment success.

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