Towards an inclusive understanding of career development in higher education: reflections of graduates with disabilities

Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory, this article explores how higher education supports or hinders career development through the reflections of graduates with disabilities from Israel, Italy, and Spain. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological design, based on in-depth interviews with 45 university graduates, to capture how participants make meaning of their academic experiences, institutional supports and barriers, and transitions into employment. Data were analysed combining inductive thematic analysis with a theory-informed framework to interpret patterns related to skills development, goals, contextual supports, and career outcomes. The findings show that while higher education plays a central role in fostering personal skills, graduates often encounter a gap between academic learning and workplace demands and receive limited institutional support during the transition to employment. Although accommodations often enable degree completion, they are less consistently linked to career guidance, work-based learning, or post-graduation support. By foregrounding graduates lived experiences across three national contexts, the study reconceptualises career development as a formative process embedded throughout the academic journey, shifting responsibility from individual adaptation to institutional accountability for equitable employment outcomes. It amplifies students’ articulated needs and offers practical, evidence-informed recommendations for strengthening inclusive career support in higher education and across the transition to employment.