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Employment

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PAPERS
21

Education, employment and training
policies and programmes
for youth with disabilities
in four
European countries

Action Programme on Youth Unemployment

Clement Russell


Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

2. General employment conditions for people with disabilities and youths with disabilities

3. Denmark: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

4. Germany: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

5. Spain: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

6. The United Kingdom: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

7. Conclusions and recommendations

References

Annexes

Foreword

This paper represents a contribution to the ILO’s Action Programme on Youth Unemployment being undertaken in the 1996-97 biennium. The Action programme is intended to: (I) raise awareness amongst constituents concerning the problems associated with the labour market entry of young people; (ii) to improve their understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the principal policy and programme options for tackling the problem of youth unemployment and thus, (iii) enhance the capacity of member states to design and implement policies and programmes for promoting youth employment. The Actin programme includes country case studies from all over the world as well as policy reviews concentrating on specific topics within the ambit of the youth unemployment "problem". The country case studies will be used as the basis for unemployment and youth employment policy. The second major output will be a policy manual outlining the implications of the different available policy options.

Naturally, this particular study, which looks at Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom falls within the scope of the Actin programme’s objective to disseminate information and promote a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages associated with policies and programmes addressing the problem of youth unemployment.

All four countries referred to in this study adhere to the principle of equal opportunity and treatment which is the ultimate justification for their policies aimed at preparing young persons with disabilities for regular work. However, the study shows that even with these policies set in place, large numbers of young persons with disabilities in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United kingdom continue to confront barriers to entry into the work force After a general introduction to the rising concern over the high rates of unemployment of persons with disabilities in the European open labour market, the study presents some of the applied approaches for integrating people with disabilities into training and employment. This includes a discussion on mainstream versus specialized training.

As the relevant methodologies vary from one country to another, the country studies make up the majority of the report and can stand alone from another. The country studies describe existing training and employment policies, vocational guidance and placement schemes, programmes specifically designed for youth with disabilities and concluding remarks. The last chapter of the report includes some initial conclusions as well as recommendations for future research in order to enhance the currently weak body of data on youth and disabilities and concrete action to improve the employment opportunities for young persons with disabilities in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Finally, the report points to the need to carry out more long-term oriented research which involves youth with disabilities, so as to efficiently identify strategies that support their right to work and earn income as members of and contributors to society.

Gek-Boo Ng
Chief
Employment and Labour Market Policies Branch



Acknowledgements

The author would gratefully like to acknowledge the support and assistance provided by Mr. Finn Hansen from the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs, Mr. Henning Sletved from the Danish Ministry of Education, Ms. Susan Moller from the Danish Ministry of Labour, Mrs. Janne Hansen from the Danish Institute for the Blind, Ms. Maria Brenner from the Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, Mr. Friedrich and Mr. Volker Brattig from the Berufsbildungswerk Annastift, Ms. Gisela Keune from Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, Ms. Rosa Maria Rodriguez from Ministerio De Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, Mr. Fernando Bellver from Consell Insular de Mallorca, Ms. Marita Iglesias from Iniciativas E Estudios Sociales, Mr. Bob Clowes from the Royal National Institute for Deaf People UK, Mr. Jones Gareth and Mr Stephen Cairns from Scope UK, Mr. Richard Puleston from the Department for Education and Employment UK, Ms. Sue Foord from Enham UK.

Mr. Peter Breen and Ms. Elizabeth Eyster were of great help with the editing of the report. Ms Evy Messell, who works in the Vocational Rehabilitation Branch in the ILO, was responsible for planning and coordinating the study. I would sincerely like to acknowledge her support throughout the process of drafting the report.



1. Introduction

Countries within the European Union are showing rising concern over the high rates of unemployment for people with disabilities and have made concerted efforts to develop policies which better ensure the integration of these individuals into the open labour market. Research has shown that a large number of people with disabilities are excluded from employment because of their inadequate or inappropriate education and training, combined with inaccessibility to the work place (lack of appropriate facilities) and ongoing stereotypes assumed by employers and educators. Therefore, in order to better ensure the integration of people with disabilities in the open labour market, education and training must be better suited to their needs and more informed of the skills demanded by employers. At the same time, integration can only occur when accessibility to the work place is enhanced and stereotypes are deconstructed through increased information sharing.

Throughout the country studies from Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, youth with disabilities are examined within the context of programmes and initiatives for people with disabilities in general and young people in general. Youth with disabilities is a cross cutting theme; in order to fully comprehend the situation these young people face in the labour market, it is essential to look at the wider context.

1.1 General approaches to integrating people with disabilities into employment and training

Although Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom are members of the European Union (EU) and have ratified the ILO Convention 159 Concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons), their policies towards people with disabilities vary substantially. This is not to say that the ultimate aim of each of these countries is divergent. Quite the contrary, Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom share a common interest in integrating people with disabilities into mainstream society and guaranteeing their rights as citizens. Nevertheless, variations exist in how these goals are met and how people with disabilities are defined as a group.

Danish legislation, for example, does not provide a clear definition of disability and government services are highly decentralised, stressing the importance of local, tailor made responses. Legislation and policy is designed to facilitate and support the integration of people with disabilities into regular structures on equal terms with others and with the necessary compensatory measures. Quotas and affirmative action schemes are thus de-emphasised as most attention is placed on mainstream training, upgrading facilities to accommodate people with disabilities while helping them acquire the necessary skills for employment.

Meanwhile, Germany sets forth a clear legal framework with regard to people with disabilities. The government stresses the necessity for people with disabilities to have skills which allow them to compete in the open labour market. Special measures like quotas and protection against dismissal are designed to ensure that integration does occur. Sheltered workshops and special centres are available to people with disabilities who are unable to find employment on the open labour market.

Spain also explicitly recognises the rights of people with disabilities in its Constitution. The first aim is to integrate people with disabilities into the open labour market and where this is not possible, provide work experience in sheltered workshops. Similar to Denmark, Spain also emphasises decentralised government, thus allowing local authorities to create and implement employment policies concerning people with disabilities. Consequently, the degree to which people with disabilities have been successfully integrated into mainstream employment and education varies from region to region.

The United Kingdom’s approach to people with disabilities continues to undergo a process of revision and adaptation with the emergence of private agencies and a change in attitudes. Quotas and registration schemes dating from 1944 were repealed in 1996. Today, employers in the United Kingdom with 20 or more employees cannot discriminate against a person with a disability in recruitment, promotion, training, working conditions and dismissal. The government therefore clearly recognises the rights of people with disabilities to have equal access to employment. Numerous private and public support initiatives have been established to facilitate the realisation of this policy objective.

1.2 Mainstream versus specialised training and employment for people with disabilities

Whether to emphasise mainstream rather than specialised structures and services for people with disabilities has been a continuous debate with hard to find answers. Some countries like Denmark, however, have given themselves fully to the idea of integrating people with disabilities into mainstream education, training and employment and therefore avoid quotas and protection schemes. More attention is devoted to creating situations of "normalisation" and incorporating the necessary facilities and services for people with disabilities into mainstream society. For example, rather than provide separate schools for people with disabilities, the mainstream approach requires that all schools develop the capacity to enrol people with disabilities by adapting the learning environment (wheel chair accessible and learning tools).

While integrating people with disabilities into the mainstream reduces chances for isolation that can occur with specialised facilities, a rising concern is that quality may eventually suffer with decentralisation. Sceptics fear that the mainstream approach can be inefficient, impersonalised and organised in such a way that some people get overlooked or drop out of the system. Despite hesitations, an overwhelming majority of trainers and educators feel that this approach is the still clearest way of showing people with disabilities that they are welcomed and equal members of society.

At the international level, a disability movement is beginning to gather widespread support. A guiding principle behind this movement is that people with disabilities do not only require improved specialised services or benefits, but must be recognised as full citizens. The movement, likewise, refutes the historical disability model which considers the person with a disability a subject of charity.

If rights refers to the same life opportunities for others, how can these be guaranteed? People with disabilities must be provided the means to make use of these opportunities. Equality must therefore come to mean not only treating people the same despite their differences, but also treating people as equals by accommodating their differences.(1) The movement supports a new and fundamental approach based on the belief of "equal beings, equal rights", asserting the individual's right to plan and manage his/her own life independently with access to the same opportunities. Disability should be understood as acceptance of diversity in all policy areas and in society in general.(2)

1.3 Defining disabilities

How society as a whole and people with disabilities themselves approach their disability has undergone dramatic changes. The way in which the concept of disability is defined, for example, is no longer limited to the medical context but has acquired a social interpretation. Hearing loss, for example, has medical implications but as concerns an individual's education, training and employment, has an equally important social significance.

According to the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, disability and handicap are defined as follows:

The term disability summarises a great number of different functional limitations occurring in any population in any country of the world. People may be disabled by physical, intellectual or sensory impairment, medical conditions or mental illness. Such impairments, conditions or illnesses may be permanent or transitory in nature. The term handicap means a loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others. It describes the encounter between the person with a disability and the shortcomings in the environment and in many organised activities in society, for example, information, communication and education, which prevent persons with disabilities from participating on equal terms.(3)

Each country interprets these definitions differently. Variations naturally lead to gaps and discrepancies in country case studies such as these.

Denmark does not have a legal definition of disability and people with disabilities do not have to officially register themselves as such. A disability is primarily regarded as a relationship between the individual and society. As a person's disability may have an impact on his/her ability to perform in a particular sector, problems must be analysed and solved within the sectors in which they arise, such as transport, education or employment.(4) This approach is intended to bring about tailor made solutions.

Reduced working capacity by at least 50 per cent, due to physical, mental or social reasons is used as criteria for awarding pensions in Denmark. Registration does occur when a person with a disability applies for a benefit, but is used only for administrative purposes and in relation to a specific legal authority.

Germany defines disabilities among young people or adults as a permanent functional impairment resulting from an irregular physical, mental or psychological condition. People are required to register their disabilities with public officials. Employment quota schemes and access to sheltered work apply to people with a medically certified degree of disability of over 50 per cent or those who have been declared equivalent by the Employment Service with a degree of functional disability over 30 per cent.(5)

In Spain, the expression disability refers to any person whose opportunities for participating in education, work or social activities are reduced as a result of a physical, mental or sensory impairment, whether congenital or not, and which is likely to be permanent. To qualify for programmes run by the public labour market service, people must be registered unemployed and disabled, with a reduction of capacity for work of at least 33 per cent.(6)

In the United Kingdom there is no single definition of disability, various definitions apply depending on the situation. The main differences are related to access to specific services, benefits and allowances, and general policy statements. For example, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 defines a person as disabled if he or she has (or has had) a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.(7)

Other definitions are used by two relevant NGOs, the Employers' Forum on Disability (disability is defined "as a physical or sensory disability, learning difficulty or mental health problem, which is regarded as a significant disadvantage in daily life or at work") and the British Council of Organizations of Disabled People which believes disability should be characterized as "the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the mainstream of life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical or social barriers."

World-wide, a growing number of people with disabilities are refusing to be categorized into specific disability target groups. At a glance, it might appear that being defined within a specific disability group can create positive results with quotas and protection and is useful as a method for targeting pensions and benefits. Nevertheless, experience has shown that the long-term effects of being "labeled" can be negative and young people are especially sensitive to being categorized and potentially ostracized. For this reason, many youths with disabilities immediately reject proposals and services that set them apart from the norm.(8)

Despite the obvious, negative associations, definitions are also a way of acknowledging that each individual is indeed unique and has different needs and capacities. The definitions themselves do not preclude people from equal opportunities. As noted earlier, equality means equal treatment and opportunity for each individual despite differences. In avoiding definitions, we risk overlooking individual needs and abilities which in turn limit access and hamper full integration.

1.4 European Union Employment Community Initiative

In order to better understand the relationship between disability programmes and programmes for disadvantaged youths, reference will be also made to the European Union Employment Community Initiative within each country study. Funded mainly by the European Social Fund and involving all Member States, this initiative targets groups which face specific difficulties in finding employment.(9) In accordance with the initiative's guidelines, Member States must articulate their own priorities and develop operational programmes that respond to national, regional, economic and social needs. This study highlights aspects of each country's programme relevant to people with disabilities in general and, more specifically, young people with disabilities.


2. General employment conditions for people with disabilities and youth with disabilities

Young people with disabilities must be viewed as citizens like any other with the right of access to employment, training, information and full adult status. Due to their unique circumstances however, practical consideration must be given to their special needs in training and education. Likewise, young people with disabilities perform better in a supportive environment. Partnerships between key participants in the education, training and employment sectors can facilitate a smoother transition from school to training to working life.(10) The roles that educators, trainers, family and employers play are crucial in determining the eventual degree of integration a young person with a disability will experience in employment.

Effective integration can be achieved if both the complex process of transition into work and the required range of needs can be addressed. To achieve this objective, no single common approach is useful as each person and each situation is different. Integration into employment therefore requires tailor made solutions.(11)

Independence is often the primary goal of young people with disabilities in their transition to adulthood. Any constraints or limitations experienced in achieving this goal may ultimately hinder integration into the workforce. Support in the form of professional advice on curriculum development, counseling, assessment, training and career planning have a positive impact on young people seeking employment and independence.

The quality of the transition from school to working life is dependent on organizational structures, the nature and the severity of the handicap and a number of other contextual variables including the social environment.(12) Transition is a process of social orientation that implies status change and role (from student to trainee, from trainee to worker and from dependence to independence) and is, therefore, central to integration into society. Transition does not merely mean playing a new role but requires a change in relationships, routines and self-image.

Transitions occur in three phases: the final years of schooling; further education and vocational training; and entry into the workforce and adult life. The starting point for an individual's transition can vary as young people with disabilities move in and out of mainstream classes, special schools and classes, hospitals or residential institutions at different ages. (13)

In order to guarantee a smoother transition from school to the workplace, young people with disabilities need to develop goals and identify the role they ultimately want to play in society. This requires an awareness of the opportunities and limitations existing around them as well as self-awareness of their own strengths and talents and the long-term conditions of their disability.

Teachers, trainers and guidance staff need to actively advise and counsel students with disabilities. Balanced efforts should be made to allow the young person to make decisions on his/her own with support from the outside.(14)

The learning environment is often influenced by an individual's family. Sometimes support from the family can result in over protection. During the transition phase, parents may become particularly concerned about their child's future and, without help, may inhibit his/her transition into adulthood. Families, therefore, must be constructively involved in the young person's move towards independence.

Choice of vocation can offer great possibilities for self-determination. In offering vocational guidance, advisors must be cautious and reinforce the idea of independent decision making on the part of the young person involved.

Under current provisions, the role of professionals and their ability to work in partnerships is central to the implementation of policies at local and national level. Significant problems can arise with cross sector rivalry amongst professionals resulting in services showing less than a full commitment to a genuine inter-service approach. Discrepancies can occur over funding issues, different viewpoints with regard to the meaning of integration or the concept of independence or available choices and methodology. This rivalry can potentially lead to a transition process which does not involve the individual enough in decision making. Some young people are frustrated by the prospect of dealing with a multiplicity of agencies. Different aspects of the young person's education should therefore be linked to his/her needs and aspirations and rivalries should be recognized and discontinued.(15)

Specific measures and programmes carry with them the disadvantage of setting up selection criteria according to the disability making it necessary to be labeled as disabled in order to access them. Such measures and programmes tend to stigmatize those who enter them, lending weight to the idea that people with disabilities are not capable of receiving education in a mainstream environment nor of gaining employment. Such categorizing tends to marginalize the person with a disability and reverses the desired effect.

2.1 The general labour market context

Below are a list of trends recorded across Europe which help to place conditions for people with disabilities into the general context of employment in the EU. (16)

Although unemployment remains high throughout the European Union, Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom are beginning to see positive growth in employment;

Despite these positive indicators, youth unemployment in Spain and the United Kingdom is still twice as high as adult unemployment (over 20 per cent on average). Denmark and Germany, however, are an exception to this common trend in European countries:

  • Long-term unemployment increased in 1995 from 48 per cent of the unemployed to over 50 per cent;

  • Unemployment of women remains higher than that of men in almost all Member States;

  • Working conditions are gradually changing with an increase in the number of people working at night and on weekends across Europe. Meanwhile, many of the new jobs created in the 1990's were part time. Temporary work accounted for all of the employment increases for men and just under half of the rise for women;

  • Job losses in large enterprises have largely been compensated by job creation in small and medium sized enterprises;

  • Companies with fewer than 100 employees have experienced a rise in employment, while those with over 100 have seen a decrease; and

  • The service sector provided most of the additional jobs, while the decline in employment in agriculture and industry continued;

  • According to the most recent EU report on employment, employment growth requires an offensive strategy which promotes an increase in demand rather than a defensive strategy based on the sharing of existing jobs. Growth should be driven by greater innovation leading to job creation and consolidating existing jobs;

  • This offensive strategy requires investments in physical productive capacity, human resources, an entrepreneurial environment and knowledge and skills;

  • The challenge posed by the onslaught of new technology calls for an urgent response in upgrading the current skills of the workforce. Continuous training programmes based on partnerships between public authorities and enterprises are a necessary component in dealing with the demands of continuous structural change.
As people with disabilities tend to be under educated and under trained, the proposed offensive strategy must actively target this group.

2.2 Employment rates for people with disabilities

Around ten per cent of Europe's population, including young people and the elderly, have disabilities. Although many of these people are capable of working, statistics show that people with disabilities generally encounter more difficulties in obtaining employment and are more likely to remain unemployed for a long time. The rate of unemployment for people with disabilities tends to be two to three times higher than the norm.

Current data reveals that many people with disabilities lack the appropriate qualifications for work. In Spain, 80 per cent of adults with disabilities have not continued their education beyond primary school and only 11 per cent have continued with their education after secondary school. In the United Kingdom, 46 per cent have continued after primary school and 33 per cent after secondary school.(17) These figures support the argument that people with disabilities are at a disadvantage on the open labour market, not because of an inherent incapacity associated with their disabilities, but due to their low level of access to education and training.

The perceptions and attitudes held by employers continue to create obstacles for people with disabilities in securing employment. In many cases, an employer knows very little about employment policies regarding people with disabilities or the abilities of people with disabilities to perform in the workplace. There is an overall shortage of accurate information concerning people with disabilities, allowing prejudices and stigmatisms to persist. Employers do not receive enough support and input during the hiring process, suggesting that trade unions and employers organizations need to improve their representation of people with disabilities. Very few networks exist between the social partners and service providers involved in the employment process for people with disabilities.(18)

Workplaces generally remain inappropriately designed to accommodate a workforce with disabilities. Many people with disabilities therefore face exclusion, not on the basis of their skills, but from the inaccessibility of the working environment. For integration to occur, steps must be taken by the employers to upgrade facilities.

Today, with changes in technology and a shift to the computer age, the labour market demands a variety of new professional skills from its labour force. Increasingly, having an advanced education is a person's only guarantee for employment. At the same time, with the widespread use of computers and other technical equipment, less emphasis is being placed on physical strength. People with physical disabilities might therefore find fewer barriers to entry into today's ever changing workforce.




3. Denmark: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

The aim of the Danish disability policy is to provide each individual with the means to live as normal a life as possible.(19) Legislation is designed to facilitate the integration of people with disabilities into schools, the open labour market and community life on equal terms with others. In line with this approach, organizations representing people with disabilities uphold the view that positive discrimination in favour of people with disabilities (quota schemes) contradict principles of equality and normalization efforts. Registering disabilities is discouraged because this action assumes that it is possible to categorize and confine disabilities and conditions to a specific definition.

3.1 Policies to promote access to training and employment for people with disabilities in general

Services provided for people with disabilities are based on the principle of solidarity. This implies that everyone is responsible for the individual and that services should be available when needed. The national government is more or less a facilitator, encouraging everyone to take part in improving education and employment quality (including accessibility) for people with disabilities and has therefore created very few national level policies specifically targeting these individuals. Denmark stresses decentralization in government and anticipates action and policy making at the local and sector levels.

In accordance with the principle of sector responsibility, the Ministry of Labour is in charge of employment policy (counseling, job service and adult training programme), the Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for rehabilitation and sheltered employment (anticipatory pension and disability allowances) and the Ministry of Education is responsible for the education and qualification of people with disabilities. The department of Vocational Education and Training has two offices which deal with special educational assistance. People with disabilities receive guidance, allocation of technical aids and adapted teaching materials, examinations and tests at all vocational colleges.

Policy implementation is placed as close to the people as possible. The central government sets up the relevant statutory and economic framework while local and county authorities implement policy.

    3.1.1 Employment policies and programmes

    In 1996, the Ministry of Labour created a financial pool which facilitates the integration of people with disabilities into the open labour market and helps employed people with disabilities to maintain jobs they may already have. The pool funds special education, on the job training, course upgrades and vocational training. Working tools and technical aids for workplace adaptation are also available as well as funding for individuals and organizations participating in or promoting projects designed to improve the integration of people with disabilities into the workforce.

    Denmark's only national affirmative action plan is used specifically for public administration jobs. State, regional and local offices, where more than half of the total wage budget is paid by public authorities, have an obligation to provide persons with disabilities priority access to employment. However, this plan is rarely used.

    Personal assistance is available to employed people with disabilities to facilitate work performance. Individuals with visual or hearing impairments require these services the most. Employers can access government grants for the salaries of the personal assistant.

    Wage subsidies are available for employees whose output is deemed reduced. In 1987, there were 1,937 cases of this subsidy.

    New Partnership For Social Cohesion

    The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs encourages companies to take greater social responsibility. It recently initiated a study on the current international debate over a new partnership for social cohesion. Businesses are increasingly accepting joint responsibility for social development and world-wide there are about 36 different business networks committed to reducing exclusion and defining social responsibility (some 6,000 companies are members of these networks). Efforts to develop partnerships for social cohesion reflect some of the dramatic changes occurring in the world today as the traditional role of government is being redefined and businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), media and financial institutions are taking on new responsibilities.(20)

    Social responsibility among enterprises may be defined as the actions which:

    • promote equal opportunities during recruitment;

    • avoid exclusion within enterprises;

    • promote the creation of new jobs;

    • contribute to social integration in deprived areas - particularly among marginalized groups;

    • implement aggressive manpower policies focusing on a reduction of internal and external stress factors.

    The Danish company Pressalit provides an example of how enterprises can play a more active role in integrating people with disabilities into the labour market. This company which produces and sells toilet seats and bathroom equipment, employs a total of 300 people. Pressalit has always had a non-hierarchical management structure allowing employees to develop an extensive degree of competence and responsibility. Many changes have so far occurred in working conditions including workspace layout, working hours and fields of responsibility. The company also operates job rotation projects; in one case, 12 employees participated in a long-term training course, during which time an additional 12 unemployed people were absorbed into the company. In addition to this, company representatives also provide guest lectures at local schools on careers guidance.

    The company offers work experience to young people who are unwilling to continue with their education, unemployed young people and young people with disabilities whose productive capacity is reduced. Through close co-operation with a job centre and local labour market training centres the company recently hired a young person with a physical disability as an apprentice after taking the appropriate steps to make the building and work stations wheelchair accessible. The apprenticeship soon became a full time job and the initiative thus benefited the apprentice as well as the employer.

    3.1.2 Employment Community Initiative

    According to Denmark's operational programme, the legal framework for the total integration of people with disabilities exists, but in times of high unemployment (and in light of the strict entry criteria for education/training programmes), people with disabilities and other marginalised groups are often at the end of the queue.

    Therefore the priorities are to:

    • integrate the target group into improved initial and further vocational training and higher education with an emphasis on new technologies, as well as adaptation of workplaces;

    • improve each individuals qualifications for work through training;

    • improve upon the skills of training staff by updating them on the use of advanced aids and new technologies;

    • achieve permanent employment through increased visibility of the skills people with disabilities posses; and

    • job creation from local and regional initiatives

    With regard to youths, the operational programme begins by targeting the relatively high number of young people who do not finish compulsory education or vocational training. Priorities for this group thus include:

    • developing new training cycles, taking in account the individual's expectations and abilities;

    • improving general vocational skills; and

    • updating qualifications of counselors, teachers and trainers to enable them to provide the target group with appropriate guidance and education/training.

    3.1.3 Regional employment services

    Denmark, which is divided into 14 counties, adheres to the concept decentralization in labour market policy. Consequently, each county must design and implement its own labour market policy while the Directorate in Copenhagen supervises these actions. Each county has a number of local employment agencies and an employment "regional head office" which co-ordinates the activities for the county's unemployed population.

    Each of the 14 regional head offices employs a counselor who informs people with disabilities and employers about relevant programmes and integration schemes. The government requires that the appointed counselor have a disability.

    The county council ensures that institutions (described below) are available for people with disabilities and other persons with reduced job opportunities, with a view to vocational rehabilitation, training and retraining, as well as to an assessment of their working capacity. In addition, the county provides sheltered employment or job opportunities for persons who are not able to find or retain normal work in open employment due to physical or mental disabilities. County authorities are free to build a system adjusted to local possibilities and needs.

    With regard to training and employment, five different types of institutions exist:

    • rehabilitation centres which assess working capacities and provide vocational training and retraining;

    • vocational training institutions offering training and retraining courses to facilitate employment (some of these institutions are uniquely designed for people with disabilities);

    • individual sheltered employment providing work opportunities for people with disabilities in a specially designed work environment within public and private institutions, factories and workshops;(21)

    • sheltered workshops which, although they are not regarded by the Danish government as vocational training or full status employment, allow people with disabilities to carry out some style of work; and

    • special day centres providing social skills training and preparation for sheltered workshops.

    A recent survey found that over half of the people participating in sheltered workshops in Denmark had severe learning disabilities and a third had physical disabilities. Only around one per cent of all employees in sheltered workshops are under 20 years of age while 9.7 per cent are between 20 and 25.(22) Sheltered workshops allow people with disabilities to experience some form of work, but do not necessarily qualify them for employment outside.

    3.1.4 Education and training

    The "Folkeskole" is the primary and lower secondary school for adolescents between the ages of seven and sixteen. As Folkeskole is compulsory, approximately 90 per cent per year group attend. In general, children and young people with disabilities are integrated into the regular school system.(23)

    Approximately 95 per cent of Folkeskole graduates continue with one of the following youth education programmes:

    Vocational education and training programmes, attended by approximately 40 per cent of Folkeskole graduates, which qualifies students for employment or enrolment in further education.

    Vocational higher education (technical colleges, business schools, health care colleges and agricultural colleges), about 15 per cent of Folkeskole graduates participate in these programmes, which prepares students to continue with further and higher commercial or technical education.

    General upper secondary education (universities), attended by approximately 40 per cent of Folkeskole graduates, which has an academic focus and a final examinations determining entrance into higher education programmes.

    No school or state funded training programme is permitted to turn down applicants because of their visible or invisible disability. Consequently, qualified young people with disabilities have free access to all 198 different training programmes including the 245 different specialized programmes which complement basic training.(24)

    Integration to this degree is likewise enhanced by the "Curator" system, designed to minimize possibilities of becoming "lost" in the system after leaving school. Curators teach young people with disabilities in their final years of schooling (from age 13), are responsible for vocational preparation, and are available to the individual with the disability and his/her family during the transition to training or employment.(25)

    Adult vocational training (AMU) courses offer employed as well as unemployed people the opportunity to obtain and maintain professional and interdisciplinary skills which are at any time demanded by the labour market. AMU courses are available within 56 trades and professions. Young unemployed persons under 25, including those with disabilities, are entitled and obliged to participate in a training course for 18 months. Efforts are presently underway to improve conditions at AMU facilities for people with disabilities (wheel chair accessible, personal support, and important pedagogical resources such as Braille, audio tapes and image based material).

    Over the past three years, the Ministry of Labour has made a special effort to involve people with dyslexia or who are functionally illiterate in vocational training programmes. As a result, a growing number of people with these types of disabilities attend AMU courses.

    The Danish Institute for the Blind

    The Danish Institute for the Blind encourages a very positive and supportive approach to resolving the diverse range of associated psychological complexities that accompany visual disabilities, especially among the newly blind. The approach is to provide rehabilitation and act as a job agency. The Institute supplements technical training with personal development training which aims to enable and empower the visually impaired person to work with an open and defined attitude to their disability and to achieve the necessary levels of self confidence and appreciation of self-worth. A job search training course runs in parallel. The Institute has found that the individual achieves a high degree of understanding of their own resources and of the meaning of their visual handicap in relation to their own goals. Alongside these courses, potential employers are encouraged to address the problems they perceive in employing a visually handicapped person and to voice their requirements. These companies therefore collaborate directly in the design of training courses.

    The result is an approach which concentrates on the individual but within a truly extended setting which is anchored by the reality of the key players in labour market.

3.2 Concluding remarks

People with disabilities are entitled to financial, practical or social support on the basis of need, not the disability itself.(26) The principle of equality is fundamental and therefore special legislation for people with disabilities is limited and no official definition of disability exists.

In practice, the success of this policy of integration is limited to training and education while the transition into employment requires more attention. In order to better prepare students for employment, vocational training systems should offer more practical skills opportunities while alternative professions such as handicraft need to be explored. Schools should focus on labour prospects and vocational counselors need to be more dynamic and specialized.

Training programmes must improve upon their understanding of people with disabilities in society and present working conditions. At the same time, young people with disabilities should be encouraged to be independent early on in their studies.

Finally, while the mainstream approach to education and employment is preferred, complementary provisions (enhanced resources, appropriate facilities and innovation) must be more widespread to lead to a greater, more positive impact.(27) Mainstream structures and services must become fully accessible to people for with disabilities for complete integration to occur. For mainstream policies to work, the country must not only be wholly committed to this cause, but should make every effort to create the conditions for full integration.




4. Germany: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

Germany's first law after the second World War stipulating an employment obligation for people with disabilities was enacted in 1953. In 1974, further legislation was passed securing their integration into the labour market by providing protection against dismissal to individuals with disabilities of over 50 per cent. Following Germany's reunification, a Constitutional amendment was added declaring that no person shall be discriminated against because of race, gender, religious and political beliefs or disability.(28)

4.1 Policies to promote access to training and employment for people with disabilities in general

The Federal Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Sozialordnung), the Federal Labour Market Service (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, BA) and the Regional Assistance Office (Hauptfürsorgestellen) are responsible for employment policies for people with disabilities.

    4.1.1 Employment policies and programmes

    Quota schemes

    According to the Severely Disabled Persons Act of 1974, public and private firms with 16 or more employees are required to reserve six per cent of their positions for people with disabilities or pay a compensatory levy (DM 200 per vacancy per month). In 1992, these compensatory levies totaled DM 975 million, 45 per cent of which went to the Federal Ministry of Employment for supra regional subsidies in sheltered workshops, residential homes and special programmes; the remaining 55 per cent went to the Regional Assistance Office for individual and regional subsidies.

    Quotas are designed to enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, however, the results of this policy have not been fully or completely promising. For example, of the 167,900 employers in 1993 who qualified for the quota, only 15 per cent (25,800) had met the requirements by October of that year. Meanwhile, sceptics fear that employers will consent only to pay the levy and thus altogether avoid hiring people with disabilities. A disinclination to hire people with disabilities may in part be explained by legislation currently in place which protects these individuals from dismissal (discussed below) - a policy that many employers would like to avoid. Nevertheless, a surprising number of people with disabilities (an estimated 109,300 between 1993-1995) have been more successful in finding employment in smaller firms not covered by the quota.

    The aims of the quota are, to some extent, conflicting and unclear as the compensation payments are allocated to the Compensatory Levy Fund which in turn finances services and programmes for people with disabilities. If all employers were therefore to meet the quota, the Compensatory Levy Fund would no longer exist.

    Furthermore, people with disabilities risk being stigmatized under the quota scheme with its mandatory registration and reliance on definitions. Several NGOs representing people with disabilities are opposed to quotas for this reason. Theoretically, quota schemes should create opportunities for people with disabilities, while in practice, due to the need to define disabilities, they focus too much on deficiencies. Despite criticism, however, many NGOs would like to keep the quota after undertaking measures to make them more efficient or increase the levy substantially.

    Protection against dismissal

    The dismissal of an employee with a disability requires advanced approval from the Regional Assistance Office. The government bases its responses on a set of criteria, such as the economic situation of the company, internal work organizations or disciplinary reasons unrelated to the disability.

    In 1990, applications for arbitration of dismissal totaled 19,433, of which 50 per cent were refused (meaning the worker kept his/her job). In general, many consider this programme to be very effective, especially for people who acquire a disability during the course of their employment. Nevertheless, special protection measures such as these can potentially lead to discrimination against people with disabilities as firms do not want to hire someone for whom they may one day have to seek government approval for dismissal.

    Incentives for employers

    Once a firm has hired a person with a disability, wage subsidies are available from the federal government for the first three years. Coverage ranges from 100 per cent in the first six months to 60 per cent in the third year of employment. The Regional Assistance Office spent almost DM 50 million on the creation of workplaces and training; more than DM 50 million on the adaptation of workplaces; DM 32 million on reimbursement for extraordinary expenditures on the part of the employer (personal assistants); and more than DM 20 million for special employment programmes in 1992.

    Many employers are unaware of the subsidies that are available to them if they hire people with disabilities. And in cases where this financial support is meant to provide incentives for the employer, many firms complain of the unnecessary amounts of paperwork required to secure the subsidy.

    "Trustworthy persons"

    The Severely Disabled Persons Act asks enterprises employing five or more people with disabilities to elect a "trustworthy person" to undertake the following tasks:

    • stimulate further hiring of people with disabilities;

    • ·provide assistance and advice to co-workers with disabilities;

    • encourage the assignment of appropriate employment for people with disabilities;

    • advise the company on how to avoid redundancy among workers with disabilities; and

    • help ensure a healthy and secure work environment with reduced risks of injury.

    Most "trustworthy persons" are disabled themselves. Research has found that enterprises with this programme are more likely to continue hiring people with disabilities.

    Employment Community Initiative

    Having acknowledged rising unemployment among people with disabilities, the German government has reaffirmed its political commitment to finding innovative solutions to integrating people with disabilities into the nation's labour force. The operational programme therefore promotes training, guidance and counseling systems, tailored advisory services, adaptation of workplaces, flexible learning systems, new technology training (including communication technology and ecology/environmental training), awareness raising and improved information dissemination.

    With regard to youths, the programme targets unemployed youths, especially those between the ages of 20 and 25 who are encountering difficulties in the transition from school to work. Priorities include:

    • co-operation between schools and vocational training institutions;

    • improved networks and links between schools, parents, social workers and trainers;

    • development of non-profit training and placement agencies with national employment services;

    • new technology training; and

    • training in junior firms and support in setting up of businesses.

    Sheltered workshops

    Many people with disabilities who are unable to work in the open labour market or who are not able to be trained in special training centres have the possibility to participate in sheltered workshops. Germany has approximately 590 sheltered workshops employing 140,000 people with disabilities. Nearly half are between 15 to 30 years of age.

    The vast majority (83 per cent) of workshop participants have mental disabilities, followed by people with mental health problems, physical disabilities, blindness and hearing impairments. Work activities vary from industrial production to arts and crafts, assembly, general services and packaging. On average, wages do not allow workers to meet their subsistence needs and legal rights for employees are not applicable.

    Sheltered workshops in Germany offer work and training, enable disabled people to develop their professional capacity and provide social and medical services. They are subsidized almost totally by the system of social help and assistance. Workshop participants (over half of whom are younger than 30 years) can receive work training, asses work capacities and have the possibility to receive work training ans to assess their work capacities. Such an assessment can, among others, lead to further training in special training centres or employment in the open labour market.

    The Severely Disabled Persons Act provides guidance and regulations for sheltered workshops which are primarily operated by private entities.(29) Supported employment

    Supported employment is used as an alternative to sheltered workshops or day activity centres. It promotes the provision of training and employment within regular businesses. Job coaches for individuals with disabilities ensure that the type of support needed for each person is tailored to specific needs. One of the unique features of supported employment is its emphasis on "on-the-job" training.

    Social firms

    Legal and financial assistance in the establishment of social firms for people with disabilities has been available since 1996. About 900 workplaces exist within 90 social firms, mainly for people with mental health problems. The firms have been designed to provide permanent, normal, non-institutionalized employment and thus allow people with disabilities to explore working life, practical training and reintegration.

    4.1.2 Vocational guidance, assessment, training and placement

    According to the Employment Promotion Act, the Federal Employment Office is responsible for vocational guidance; job placement; promoting vocational training; granting payments for the maintenance and creation of employment; and unemployment benefits.

    In addition, the Federal Employment Office must work together with schools and other bodies in providing career counseling. Regular meetings take place at the federal and regional level between authorities for education and the Federal Employment Office. From 1993 to 1994, more than 200,000 people with disabilities, most of which were youths, visited the career counseling offices.

    Vocational guidance

    In 1995, Germany had around 600 vocational counselors who provided specialized guidance services within regional and local mainstream employment offices. These counselors, who are specially qualified to work with young people with disabilities, facilitate the transition from school to employment. Consequently, they participate in vocational orientation and guidance, co-operating closely with teachers from special schools, parents and representatives of patient/client organizations. They make regular visits to schools and, if required, participate in the educational process with respect to vocational matters. Most importantly, counselors are required to communicate with employers.

    Vocational assessment

    Through vocational assessment, people with disabilities are sometimes more likely to receive appropriate rehabilitation. Assessments are conducted in specialized training centres and usually take around 60 days during which time a number of practical and core skill related activities are performed. Afterwards, results are used for designing rehabilitation plans.

    Vocational training

    According to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act (1974) vocational assistance should include all forms of assistance necessary to sustain, enhance, generate or restore the capacity of the individual to eventually earn his/her own income through employment. Under the Handicraft Regulation Act, vocational training for people with disabilities must take place in an officially recognized traineeship within an enterprise or administration and alongside people without disabilities. At the same time, training must be supplemented by attendance in a vocational training school. Apprenticeship training is facilitated by subsidies to employers.

    Officially recognized training occupation

    Some training programmes have been designed according to the special circumstances of a person's disability. For example, trainees with disabilities can take exams which are specifically designed for them. All exam modifications, however, will appear on the certificate. Specially designed training courses are intended to provide trainees with the qualifications needed to find employment. In 1996, more than 23,000 young people with disabilities made use of this scheme.

    Mainstream training

    Ideally, training should take place within an enterprise or administration. Experience shows that such training programmes offer particularly good opportunities for continued employment. With assistance from the Federal Employment Office, 16,000 people with disabilities participated in training within ordinary enterprises at the end of December 1996. Within this group, 90 per cent of the trainees finished with an ordinary officially recognized trainee occupation. The Federal Employment Office help cover housing and transport costs.

    Special centres

    If mainstream training is not possible due to the severity or nature of the disability, special centres for vocational training have been made available by the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Around 14,500 positions are open to people with disabilities in 47 vocational training centres which provide initial vocational training (Berufsbildungswerke). For the retraining of adults who have acquired a disability through accidents or other reasons, there are 28 centres with about 14,500 available positions (Berufsförderungswerke -BFW). In most cases, accommodations and subsistence are made available to participants. All centres are expected to provide courses on modern training subjects and methodologies. Although job placement is between 60 per cent and 80 per cent, current changes in the labour market may result in an eventual decline.

4.2 Programmes specifically designed for youths with disabilities

About 600 vocational guidance staff are offering services and specialized guidance for young people with disabilities in regional and local labour markets. The main tasks of the counselor is to support the process of transition from school to work.

Specific initiatives and programmes for the preparation of young people for vocational training do exist. In 47 vocational training centre, 14,500 places have been created for young people with disabilities.

In 1997 more than 11,600 people with disabilities participated in training activities in sheltered workshops. It can be assumed that a great majority of these trainees were youths.

The employers organization BFZ Nürnberg in Bavaria offers partial qualification courses with practical job placements in industry. Although these partial qualifications are not nationally recognized, they are approved by local employers and therefore give people with disabilities a substantial advantage in securing a job locally. The combination of practical training supported by opportunities in work placements enable the employers to evaluate the skills and abilities of the person with the disability and allow the trainee to evaluate the suitability of employment opportunities within the company they are placed in.

Participation in a specialized vocational training centre costs between 66 DM and 121 DM/day. (30) If accommodations are included, the average per diem costs are 170 DM (without accommodation). All costs are covered by public services. The per diem costs for mainstream training in trade and technical professions in a normal enterprise or company costs 83 DM.

A significant number (16,700) of young people with disabilities participate in the dual system and thus receive training with mainstream facilities.

4.3 Concluding remarks

So as to smooth the transition from school to training, secondary education curriculum should include more information about the labour market and the conditions students will encounter upon graduation. Trainers tend to share the opinion that schools need to better prepare their students for continued vocational training or employment.

At the same time, shortcomings also exist in the transition from training to employment. Numerous follow-up services, for example, are insufficient and do not have access to enough resources. A vast majority of the job placements are unstable or are simply not feasible because of the limited amount of support activities. Communication between training centres and employers is also relatively weak as a result of decentralized operations. Finally, many training centres need to incorporate social skills training into their curriculum.

The Federal Work Association for special vocational training centres conducts ongoing research on employment of trainee graduates. In 1994, they found that unemployment among people with disabilities was higher than those without. Percentages varied from sector to sector and among professions (up to three times higher in electronics, economics and administration). The following table shows the employment scenario for 2000 young people who graduated from training programs.(31)

1 Year after the end of training 1994 (per cent) 1991 (per cent)
Stable employment (not time limited) 43.4 64.2
Stable employment (time limited) 13.1 13.5
Employment in the trained professional area 24.3 22.6
Size of company
1-9 employees 28.8 23.2
10-49 employees 33.0 27.7
50-99 employees 11.8 12.2
More than 100 26.4 36.9
Men
Women		 66.2
33.8		 70.0
30.0



5. Spain: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

The 1978 Constitution guarantees the right of all Spanish citizens to work and seek full employment while at the same time, explicitly recognizing the rights of people with disabilities. According to the 1982 Act on social integration, the first aim of Spain's employment policy for workers with disabilities is to integrate them into the ordinary system of employment and, where this is not possible, incorporate them into special sheltered employment. Today, 60 per cent of workers with disabilities are employed in private enterprises and only 3.7 per cent in public administration. The remaining 20.3 per cent are employed in sheltered workshops and 13 per cent in institutions in the nation's autonomous regions.(32)

5.1 Policies to promote access to training and employment for people with disabilities in general

Spain's policies for people with disabilities must be viewed within the context of the overall national employment policy. People with disabilities receive similar benefits to other disadvantaged groups such as unemployed youths. Special measures such as quotas, protection against dismissal and incentives for employers have been created to enhance integration.
    5.1.1 Employment policies and programmes

    The Ministry of Labour and Social Security develops employment policies affecting people with disabilities and the INEM (National Employment Institute - Insituto Nacional de Empleo) with its central office and over 50 provincial offices provides special services.

    Under the current quota scheme created in 1983, private and public enterprises employing over 50 workers must ensure that two percent of their staff comprise individuals who have registered their disabilities with the employment office. Unfortunately, this quota is not always met due to the small number of people who actually register their disabilities for fear they will be discriminated against in their job search. At the same time, however, people with disabilities have been able to find positions in small firms with less than 50 employees.

    Once a person with a disability has found employment, the government can provide some protection against dismissal. Those workers which acquire a permanent partial disability, for example, are entitled to re-employment in the same firm, either in the same job with similar wage if output remains unaffected, or in a job adapted to the residual capacity and with a wage not below a fixed amount. If workers with disabilities regain their fully capacity, employers are required to rehire them for the same position.

    Employers hiring people with disabilities can qualify for a per capita grant from INEM equal to PTA 500,000. Once the grant has been approved, an employer must guarantee a steady job to the worker with the disability for a duration of three years. If, however, this person is dismissed fairly, the employer is then obliged to replace him/her with another person with a disability.

    In addition to the grant, employers are also entitled to a deduction in their social security contributions (Reduccion de la cuota empresiarial de la Seguridad Social) for each employee with a disability. The deduction can be as high as 70 to 90 per cent if the employee is over 45.

    In 1992, contracts for recruitment subsidies totaled 2,672. Although their is no age requirement, more people under 25 (27 per cent) received the subsidy while people 45 years and over were under represented. A majority of the people had physical disabilities and more than half (58 per cent) of the employers concerned had six or fewer workers.

    Temporary employment has become another means to integrate youths and people with disabilities into the labour market. Through this programme, employers can offer an unemployed person a work contract for a period of two years and subsequently receive a reduction of 40 per cent in social security costs.

    According to the law NR. 31, Dec. 1991, employers or professionals who offer an open ended contract to a person with a disability can qualify for a PTA 700,000 tax reduction (Deduccion fical por incremento de plantill en el impuest sobre sociedades). Employers can also apply for grants of up to PTA 150,000 to adapt their workplaces to the special needs of people with disabilities (Subvencion destinada a la adaptacion del puesto de trabajo, elimination de barreras arquitectonicas).

    Sheltered employment in Spain provides people with disabilities productive, remunerated employment allowing them to become recognized players in the economy, improve their personal and social circumstances and acquire skills needed to find outside employment. Activities in sheltered workshops do not qualify as official training but are designed for people who, because of the nature of their disability, are incapable of working under normal conditions.

    In 1997, Spain listed 551 workshops with 15,553 participants.(33) Around 82 per cent of these participants had mental handicaps and 14 per cent had physical disabilities.(34) Sheltered employment centres can be created by public agencies, NGOs or companies. At the same time, they can acquire the legal status of a limited company, co-operative or trust.

    Some critics say that sheltered workshops could become more successful if attention were devoted to enhancing the distribution and purchase of their products with improved trading networks. In addition, public funding for salaries and investments in new workshops needs to be substantially increased.

    Supported employment programmes were developed in the early 1990s as an alternative to sheltered workshops and day centres. Placement and follow-up services are co-ordinated by local public and private institutions and employers.

    Some large companies themselves (CTNE, IBM, IBERIA, TALBOT, RENFE) are taking an interest in employment conditions for people with disabilities and have thus developed new policies. Initiatives include awareness raising and protection against dismissal (should an employee or his/her children acquire a handicap during their employment). Companies and their staff are making voluntary contributions for the creation of services for people with disabilities. Companies also provide housing assistance, diagnostic services, assessment and orientation, training in modern professions and special employment.

    Employment Community Initiative

    Current policies and priorities focus on the development of equal opportunities for people with disabilities and their subsequent integration into employment. The programme targets individuals without occupational experience and not seeking employment; unemployed persons who have work experience and are currently seeking employment; people with physical disabilities who are unemployed, have no work experience and are seeking employment.

    Unemployment among young people is generally very high alongside a high rate of high-school drop outs. The programme targets young people who qualify as long-term unemployed, work on the black market, have dropped out of school and are looking for work. Priorities include new approaches to labour integration; better interaction and co-ordination between education, training and the labour market; and measures to encourage self employment and relations between regions. Information activities with social partners are also foreseen.

    5.1.2 Vocational guidance, assessment and placement

    The IMSERSO (Insituto para lea Migraciones y los Servicios Sociales), formally known as INSERSO (Institutuo Nacioal De Servicios Sociales) provides people with disabilities with vocational guidance, training and assessment. Following the nation's decision to decentralize government activities, autonomous regional administrations manage these services which have been incorporated into mainstream programmes and do not always respond accordingly to the needs of their constituents.

    Private as well as public organizations are actively involved in employment placement services for people with disabilities. The former are primarily responsible for updating employers on the relevant regulations and procedures concerning the employment of people with disabilities. They likewise endeavour to establish clear communication and a close relationship with employers, who are considered active partners in the job integration process.

    The Spanish National Organization for the Blind (ONCE) has established a job search data bank for the entire country and already more than 30,000 job seekers with disabilities have enrolled. ONCE is also engaged in regionally based guidance training and placement services.

    5.1.3 Education and training

    Under the national legislative framework (Law 1/1990 for the general ordinance of the educational system - LOGSE),(35) young people with disabilities are encouraged to participate in mainstream education and training programmes. Support service staff (Advisory Educational Psychology Guidance Teams) is available for young people with disabilities in all sectors. Counselors play a critical role in the student's transition from school to training or employment.

    Once compulsory secondary education has been completed, students have several options. If they chose training, they can access vocational training within the traditional education system or INEM organized training. The former involves an academic approach to initial training as well as regular vocational training.

    The INEM funded programmes are available to all adults and young people requiring training or re-training. People with disabilities, immigrants and other disadvantaged groups are generally targeted by INEM which co-ordinates its activities with independent organizations or municipalities. Training can last anywhere from three months to three years and is directly related to employment. Employers offering training positions and displaying a willingness to convert training contracts into permanent employment can receive PTA 550,000. In addition, employers can receive funds of up to PTA 150,000 (Contrato para la Formacion de personas con discapacidad) to adapt workplaces to the needs of trainees with disabilities.

    The INEM provides the following training opportunities:

    • National Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Plan which includes a series of programmes designed to provide unemployed persons with the qualifications they need to find employment. Courses have a technical and practical component and are conducted in workshops, schools and companies. People with disabilities are eligible for a grant of up to 75 per cent of the minimum wage. After completing the training courses and undergoing the relevant assessments, a vocational certificate is then awarded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security;

    • Craft Centres and Training Workshops which are separate from the above-mentioned programmes and target unemployed people with a special emphasis on young people under 25.

    Further legislation (Act 13/82) stipulates that vocational rehabilitation can be made available in firms. This requires a special contract between the employer and the person with a disability.

    Special Vocational Training is available for people with disabilities who are unable to attend mainstream training and receive subventions from the European Social Funds.

    The Spanish National Organization for the Blind offers its members mutual assistance while also addressing individual problems. It provides vocational training for blind people in special centres or other appropriate public or private centres and has successfully founded schools to train telephonists, physiotherapists, farmers and craftsmen. ONCE also offers training in modern information technology professions.

5.2 Programmes specifically designed for youths with disabilities

Although young people with disabilities have generally not been targeted within the population of young people or the population of people with disabilities, the current administration has placed youth employment and education at the top of its national priorities. The vocational guidance, assessment and placement services developed by INSERSO, INEM, private organization and autonomous regions are presently better designed to respond to the needs of young people with disabilities.

5.3 Concluding remarks

The social integration act of 1982 stated that non-profit making institutes, associations and foundations set up by disabled people themselves, relatives or legal representatives demand more overall support.

Spain's NGOs published an employment plan for people with disabilities in 1994 where they discussed the shortcomings in the country's current employment policy. More attention should be placed on promoting employment for people with disabilities in the private and public sector and people with disabilities need to be better equipped (improved skills) to compete in today's labour market. This requires improved education and training of people with disabilities, less attention focused on benefits (benefit traps) and more initiatives to adapt environments to the special needs of people with disabilities (wheel chair accessible, enhanced transport). Finally, the country's efforts to decentralize government have created confusion at the expense of people with disabilities and training and employment services require better funding.




6. The United Kingdom: Employment and training policies for youth with disabilities

6.1 Policies to promote access to training and employment for people with disabilities in general

The Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 originated from the need to make provision for people disabled in the Second World War. The Act followed recommendations made by the Tomlinson Committee which had been set up to report on the employment needs of people with disabilities. The Tomlinson Committee considered that the great majority of people with disabilities were capable of taking employment on normal terms but that special measures were needed to help. These measures included a register of people with disabilities, assessment, rehabilitation and training centres, a specialized employment placement service, a quota scheme which placed a statutory duty on employers with 20 or more employees to employ a quota of 3 per cent of registered people with disabilities, a designated employment scheme and the establishment of National and Local Advisory Committees. The Act was administered by (at that time) the Ministry of Labour.(36)

In the 1960's, the statutory requirement for unemployed claimants to register for work was repealed. The changes in the labour market and in services such as the growth of private agencies and of self-service displays in job centres brought changes in peoples' attitudes towards disability. Although the Government introduced measures to tighten up the 1944 Act, by the 1970's they realized that the quota and registration provisions of the 1944 Act were flawed. After a series of smaller reviews during the 70's and 80's, a wider ranging review was commissioned which started in 1988 and was published in 1990 as the Consultative Document "Employment and Training for People with Disabilities". This document quoted the view of the Public Accounts Committee that the quota scheme was ineffective, outdated and unenforceable.

In January 1995 the Government published their proposals and measures for the Disability Discrimination Bill. The Bill was introduced into parliament on 12 January 1995 and received Royal Assent as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) on 8 November 1995. The employment provisions of the DDA came into force on 2 December 1996, repealing the definition of disability, quota, registration and designated employment provisions of the 1944 Act. The DDA makes it unlawful for an employer with 20 or more employees to discriminate against a person with a disability in recruitment, promotion, training, working conditions and dismissal. Further rights against discrimination to access to goods, facilities, services and premises are gradually being introduced over the next five years.

    6.1.1 Incentives for employers

    The Access to Work programme provides practical help to people with disabilities to get into, or to stay in employment. The Employment Service will meet the cost of, among other things, technical adaptations of workplaces, special equipment, deaf awareness training, personal support in the workplace etc.

    The Job Introduction Scheme encourages employers to take on a disabled worker for six weeks by paying a grant towards the wages. The scheme is used when a prospective employer has reservations about the person's suitability for the job.

    The Supported Employment Programme (formerly known as Sheltered Employment) helps over 22,000 people with severe disabilities who, because of the nature and severity of their disability, are unable to be fully productive in work but who are able to make a significant productive contribution to the economy. This is achieved through the provision of subsidized work within a supportive environment, and through encouraging and supporting employers and others to provide work, and any appropriate training, within a commercial environment. The Programme is provided under the Disabled Person's (Employment) Act 1944, as amended by the DDA 1995.

    Supported Employment can be divided broadly into two categories:

    • Supported workshops and factories: Supported workshops are run by local authorities and voluntary organizations; factories are operated by Remploy. Their main objective is to provide employment for people with severe disabilities who account for the majority of employees in the workshops and factories. The disabled workers have a productivity output of between 30 per cent and 80 per cent of non-disabled employees doing the same or similar work. Remploy is a Government sponsored private company set up in 1945 to provide employment and training for people with severe disabilities. The company has 94 factories throughout Great Britain, manufacturing a variety of products;

    • Supported Placements (SPS) and Interwork: Local authorities and voluntary organizations sponsor SPS while host employers provide the work and contribute to the costs of the placements. The Employment Service (ES) makes payments to the sponsors in accordance with its supported employment contracting arrangements. SPS workers receive the same wages as the hosts direct employees doing the same or similar work. Remploy runs its own version of SPS called Interwork which also places people on contract with commercial and industrial companies.

    6.1.2 Affirmative action, equal rights and anti-discrimination regulations

    The DDA brings in new laws and measures aimed at ending the discrimination that many people with disabilities face. The Act gives people with disabilities new rights, amongst others, in the area of employment. Employers and providers of services to the public will have to take reasonable measures to ensure that they do not discriminate against people with disabilities. Employers should be forced to make an economically rational decision when employing people with disabilities and not to discriminate against them because of their disability, when they are cost effective.

    The disability symbol is a voluntary initiative that has been running since 1990 and was strengthened in 1993 when five specific commitments were introduced. Organizations that use the symbol agree to abide by five commitments to action covering all aspects of policies and procedures in relation to employing people with disabilities. One of the commitments is a promise to interview all disabled applicants for an advertised job vacancy who meet the minimum criteria for the job. By June 1997, over 3,400 organizations, large and small, private and public sector and covering all industry types, had agreed to use the symbol.

    6.1.3 The Employment Service and working in partnership

    In order to obtain a broader perspective in promoting improved employment opportunities for people with disabilities at local and regional levels, the Employment Service (ES) has brought together an invited group of people to form a Disability Consulting Group (DCGs) for each of its seven regions, and for Scotland and Wales. Members of these groups have been identified through a process of local advertising and networking, to bring together around ten or fifteen people who can provide the ES with relevant perspectives and practical support. Each Group will draw up aims and plans which focus on specific issues relevant to the particular region, but their broad purpose will be to help ES in promoting the employment of people with disabilities and the services ES provides to people with disabilities and employers.

    6.1.4 Employment Community Initiative

    Horizon is the main programme associated with disabled people. Unemployment has been identified as the main problem and the main aim in the UK is to integrate disabled people into open employment. Horizon is able to improve the employability and job prospects of disabled people by:

    • the matching of training and work experience with information and support measures;

    • improving the delivery of services based on the individual needs of people with disabilities and strengthens co-operation between the professionals and actors in the field;

    • changing attitudes amongst employers, trade unions and other local actors in pursuit of more holistic approaches; and

    • involving people with disabilities as actors in their own progress towards open employment.

    Youthstart aims to support the better integration of young people under the age of 20 into the labour market, particularly those without basic qualifications or training. It specifically supports:

    • the development of improved training and employment opportunities for young people, especially those at risk because of low levels of formal qualifications; or

    • who are unemployed for a long time;

    • the development of innovative training, guidance and employment programmes

    • for young people.

6.2 Programmes and services

People with disabilities should have priority in mainstream employment and training programmes.
    6.2.1 Guidance

    Local Education Authorities (LEA's) have extensive duties and powers relating to young people with disabilities. They must identify and make a statutory assessment of children up to 19 if at school for whom they are responsible and who have special educational needs. After a young person's 14th birthday the LEA must make statements regarding the planning of the transition and are responsible for maintaining it. The LEA is also in charge of the overall co-ordination of transition planning among all relevant social, national/school health, employment, housing, mobility and other services including the Careers Service. LEA has a role in providing further education for adults. It is a matter of good practice for the LEA to keep under review the date when young people are expected to leave full time education. LEAs also have responsibilities for providing transport to and from schools and training locations.

    The Careers Service provides careers guidance and placement services for people attending schools and colleges and for those who have recently left. Careers services must be invited by the LEA to attend transition planning meetings and subsequent annual reviews. Each local Careers Service also plays a key and substantial role in the referral and placing of young people in education, training and employment. Young people with disabilities have a right to careers guidance until they are settled in their career intention.

    The Northern Ireland Careers Service is the only UK service delivered within central government administration and is currently sited within the Northern Ireland Training and Employment Agency, and executive agency of the Department of Economic Development. The Training and Employment Agency (T&EA) delivers a full range of labour market services to employers and the general public including job brokerage, job club and job placement for the unemployed, training opportunities for young people and adults through the Jobskills programme, community work programmes and the European vacancy service (EURES).

    The Further Education Funding Councils must ensure sufficient and adequate further education facilities. They do so mainly by funding institutions in the further education sector. Among other duties they must also ensure that the needs of students with learning difficulties and disabilities are taken into account. They must also ensure that students with disabilities up to the age of 25 have access to further education in specialist institutions outside the further education sector where this is in the students' best interests.

    There are over 1000 Employment Service Jobcentres. People with disabilities seeking work may use the mainstream Jobcentre service. Since 1992, the Employment Service's specialist Disability Service has been delivered through a network of local Placing Assessment and Counseling Teams (PACTs). In 1997 there were 53 PACTs in Great Britain. PACTs help people who are more severely disabled get and keep work, both by offering direct support and through working with employers to encourage them to be more favourably inclined towards employing people with disabilities.

    PACT services are delivered by Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) who generally work from Jobcentres; about half of all DEAs are peripatetic and cover more than one Jobcentre. The advisers help people with disabilities into training or a job, arrange employment assessment and rehabilitation, provide help under the Access to Work programme and assess to other relevant employment programmes. They also work with employers to promote the recruitment, training and retention of people with disabilities.

    The Employment Service Jobsearch Plus programme helps people who have been unemployed for three months to improve the effectiveness of their job search. Job clubs are aimed at people who have been unemployed for six months. The Jobplan programme is an example of a programme designed to assist people who have been unemployed for over a year.

    The Employment Service Employment Rehabilitation Programme helps people with disabilities to get work by addressing specific, employment related needs which prevent them from immediately being able to enter employment or take up vocational training. The programme is delivered through external agents.

    The policy initiative Welfare to Work is currently being developed by the new UK government. It will help up to 250,000 young people and the very long-term unemployed. Those aged 18 -24 who have been unemployed for six months or more will be offered a number of options - a job with an employer - a placement with a voluntary organization - a place on an environmental task force. The Government intends that people with disabilities should be able to play a part in the opportunities that the Welfare to Work initiative will provide.

    6.2.2 Training

    There are 81 Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) in England and Wales and 22 local enterprise companies, LECs, in Scotland. TECs are independent limited companies responsible, through their operating agreements with Government, for ensuring that local skills needs are targeted and met. They are responsible for providing government funded vocational training, including provision for people with disabilities. LECs are private companies controlled by boards of directors drawn from the private sector and the wider community. LECs too provide training and work experience for people with disabilities. Currently around 19 per cent of adults, and 6 per cent of young people who start training have a disability.

    Youth training is largely work based and provides vocational qualifications for school leavers. Young people with disabilities are guaranteed a place. Trainees receive an individual training plan. Youth training is delivered by training providers under contract with local TECs. Some 230,000 young people participate in Youth Training annually,

    around 50 per cent are people with disabilities. Skillseekers operates in Scotland and is delivered by training providers and employers under contract with LECs.

    Modern Apprenticeships offer training to school leavers within an approved training framework for the relevant industry sector. Trainees are assessed before or immediately on joining the scheme. Young people with disabilities can join the scheme.

    Training for work helps long-term unemployed people over 18 years get jobs through training and work experience. People with disabilities do not have to satisfy the requirement to be unemployed for six months. They also have priority for suitable training places. Most people with disabilities who train do so through TEC delivered "mainstream" training. In 1997, Training to Work offered 180,000 opportunities. Currently, 19 per cent of people who start training have a disability. There are special arrangements for providing training for people with severe disabilities. Department for Education and Employment contracts directly with 15 residential training colleges providing around 960 training places each year. The LECs in Scotland are required to ensure that suitable high quality Training for Work is available for all participants with disabilities or other special needs.

    6.2.3 Employment

    The Employment Service has a range of programmes to help unemployed people find work and people with disabilities take priority on these schemes.

    In recent years the Government's approach has been to seek to encourage the rebalancing of supported employment provision in favour of the more cost effective and integrated placements with host employers. It is accepted that there is still a role for supported workshops and factories for those who need the particular kind and level of support that they offer. The shift from factory and workshop provision to placements has been significant over the last ten years; the breakdown is now nearly 50/50. Those in supported workshops and factories are predominantly in the older age groups while people on placements with host employers tend to be much younger. Around one half of those on placements are under 30 years of age. People with learning disabilities form the largest disability group for workshops, factories and placements.

    The Government has supported Networks of Employers concerned to promote training and employment of people with disabilities. The non-profit making Employers' Forum on Disability has, in addition, raised the profile of disability and employment at national level and developed local networks, although they have no formal role in implementing policy.

6.3 Education in the United Kingdom

School is compulsory until the age of 16. There are a number of options for young people who want to continue their education after school. The choice of college will depend on the young person's preference. The options are:

    6.3.1 Higher education institutions

    There are no specialist higher education institutions (HEIs) for students with disabilities in the UK, so in effect all provision is "mainstreamed". As bodies independent of Government, HEIs make their own decisions on admissions and are responsible for their own estates, including improving physical access to buildings and providing learning support for students with disabilities where they consider it necessary.

    6.3.2 Further Education Colleges

    There are 444 Further Education Colleges in England (26 in Wales, 45 in Scotland). The following types of courses are provided; vocational courses, academic courses, access courses preparing students for his/her education, courses which prepare students for entry to vocational, academic or access courses basic literacy or arithmetic, English courses for native speakers, courses to teach independent living and communication skills to students with learning difficulties and disabilities to prepare them for entry to a course. Additional support for personal care readers or note takers may also be available. Colleges are required to publish disability statements annually. These statements provide details of the facilities that colleges provide for students with disabilities.

    6.3.3 Independent specialist colleges for students with learning difficulties or disabilities

    Nearly all students will be able to go to local college to take the course they have chosen. However some of them will need provision that a local college cannot offer and it may be necessary for them to attend an independent specialist college which has specific facilities for students with disabilities.

6.4 Implementation of training and employment policies

Responsibility for policies for the education, training and employment of people with disabilities and their implementation in Great Britain falls to constituent parts of the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and the Scottish and Welsh Offices. The Employment Service, which is an executive agency of the DfEE, is responsible for co-ordinating the delivery of disability programmes.

The National Advisory Council on Employment of People with Disabilities was set up to advise the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on the employment, self employment and training of people with disabilities. In the council there are three members representing employers organizations and three members representing employees organizations.

6.5 Discussion on training and employment policies

    6.5.1 Quotas

    Quota legislation was in force for 50 years. It was perceived as not having been enforced. There is in the UK a consensus that the quota scheme was not successful in promoting the employment of people with disabilities. There was a demand from some sections of the disability lobby to strengthen the system. With regard to quota compliance the percentage of eligible private employers meeting the 3 per cent quota declined over time from 61 per cent in 1961 to l9 per cent in 1993.

    The scheme was considered to be inoperable; the agency in charge of the monitoring was perceived not to have the appropriate resources to monitor and enforce compliance and anyway it is was, practically speaking, impossible for firms to meet the target because the number of registered people with disabilities had declined. A lack of faith in the quota system was another significant reason for not registering. Many employers were not aware of their quota obligations.

    The DDA (1995) is not seen by all disability organizations and groups as a success. Some members of disability organizations believe that the Act divides people with disabilities and itself discriminates against them. "All members of Rights Now state that the DDA is not acceptable".

    The Government agrees that the DDA is flawed and has a manifesto commitment to implement "comprehensive and enforceable civil rights for people with disabilities". On 1 October 1997, the Government announced its three-point strategy on disability rights. It will: establish a Ministerial Task Force to undertake a wide consultation on how to implement comprehensive and enforceable civil rights for people with disabilities; move to establish a Disability Rights Commission and; go ahead with implementing the later rights of access to goods and services in the DDA.

    6.5.2 Services

    Statistics show that people with disabilities are well represented on TEC delivered training programmes. Performance of people with disabilities is put to and discussed with NACEPD annually. However, the UK organization SCOPE, working with people with Cerebral Palsey, believes "that there is a distinct lack of innovation and risk taking in programmes and provision through the Training and Enterprise Councils". In general "Employment Service provision is focused on more able people with disabilities, people deemed to be job ready or have the obvious potential for job readiness, this isolates many people with disabilities who want to work but who require extra support in the quest to do so".


7. Conclusions and recommendations

Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom continue to confront challenges with the integration of people with disabilities in employment and education. Shortcomings can still be found in social structures, services for employers, information flow and labour market policies. The most pressing problem is that people with disabilities do not receive the appropriate qualifications required for employment and training initiatives need to be tailored more to the current demands of the labour market.

Research and data

With the exception of Germany, data and statistics on youths with disabilities remain insufficient in many countries. For this reason, more studies relevant to the issues discussed in this report need to be carried out. Although many specific labour policies regarding people with disabilities do in fact exist, very few people know about them and how they apply to youth with disabilities. Likewise, research on youth in general needs to include more disability studies.

Despite this report's comprehensive stock of valuable information, difficulties were nevertheless encountered in locating information specifically related to youth with disabilities. This gap in the material is one illustration of the frustrating conditions faced by these individuals. In order for policies and programmes to reflect the needs and aspirations of youth with disabilities, more interest must be generated, data collected and comprehensive studies carried out. Until then, initiatives run the risk of being misdirected and will continue to fall short of the objective to improve employment opportunities.

Awareness raising

Once data and studies become available, information flows must be enhanced as well. As discussed in this report, employers lack a clear understanding of the qualifications and capacities of youth with disability and this unawareness perpetuates hiring practices which disfavour people with disabilities. In order to improve chances for employment, widespread and informed awareness raising campaigns must be conducted. Educators, trainers and career placement services are best positioned to carry out these initiatives effectively.

Involving young people with disabilities themselves in planning

Young people with disabilities should have a proactive role in planning for their own future. Services and support should not be an obstacle but should provide assistance to young people in realizing their personal goals. Guidance counselors, educators and family should be careful not to deprive young people of their independence while providing support.

Involving young people in the decision making is also a means of generating and maintaining their interest in the hope that they are not overlooked by or do not drop out of the system. Although the ultimate aim of many education and employment policies is to fully integrate people with disabilities into mainstream society, sceptics fear that the potential exist for some youths to "fall through the cracks." In Spain, for example, 20 per cent of adults with disabilities discontinued their education after primary school, which can possibly be explained by a lack of proper support or access. Mainstreaming policies should be accompanied by follow-up services and counseling similar to the curator system in Denmark which supports young people throughout their education and especially during that critical period between schooling and employment. These support mechanisms need to become more widespread and routinely incorporated into education and training.

Guidance, assessment and information

The countries reviewed in this study need to continue with their investments in vocational guidance which effectively meets the needs of people with disabilities at the regional level. Traditional assessment systems occasionally fail to measure the skills and knowledge possessed by an individual and are especially unreliable for people with disabilities. These must therefore be revised and concentrated at the local level to better ensure tailor made solutions.

Guidance and information must be presented to young people in a manner that will seem attractive and relevant to their lives. It should begin early and remain tied to the young person's natural environment. All aspects of a young person's life need to be considered in order for guidance to be truly effective. As vocational assessment is an indispensable tool for successful transitions into employment, more emphasis should be put on quality. Equipment and facilities need to be accurately identified during an initial assessment period. For example, people with hearing or vision impairments require advanced communication resources.

Education and the labour market

Within secondary education, educators need to develop better links between practical and theoretical knowledge. New teaching methods should emphasize the importance of combining theory and practice, and developing each individual's personal qualities by involving the learner more actively in the educational process. As seen with the examples in the United Kingdom, efforts to provide young people with more interactive, hands on experience prior to the search for employment should continue as this not only enhances skills, but builds confidence and insight into job preferences.

In preparing students for life after graduation, educators themselves need more practical information about labour market conditions and training. This commitment requires improved and continued communication with employers and trainers.

Improving training programmes

Within training, it is becoming more important for trainees to gain as much working experience as possible so as to enhance their understanding of labour market conditions and respond accordingly. Likewise, trainers cannot neglect the educational aspect of vocational training in general. Many centres need to improve upon the quality of their materials and resources which have a tendency to be outdated.

Vocational training should not be limited to providing a person with new skills but should be holistic in its approach; trainees should acquire comprehensive vocational competence through practical and theoretical training geared to the real needs of employers. Classroom teaching should be combined with practical work experience and training in firms. Before completing their training, students should have improved communication skills, exposure to responsibility and team spirit.

Trainers need to maintain open dialogue with employers so as to develop an understanding of labour market demands and the skills they need to teach their students. It might even be suggested that some trainers participate in a training programme inside a company or industry. Likewise, investments in modern information technology will enhance overall training quality and content.

Efforts need to be undertaken to expose people with disabilities to new technologies. Knowledge in these areas will greatly enhance their future integration into the labour market.

Self-employment also needs to be presented and encouraged as an available and viable option.

Governments like the UK have experienced positive results with private services for training. Quality can benefit greatly from private sector investments and management.

A successfully clear, progressive and nationally accepted qualification system is indispensable for placement of youth with disabilities after training. The distinction between academic qualifications and practical job qualifications must be recognized so that efforts are undertaken to provide students with both.

Mainstream training

Mainstream training should not undermine the need for solidarity and social-cultural assimilation among people with disabilities. Young people with disabilities must maintain their right to make their own informed choices. Within mainstream systems, a balance must be struck with the mixture of professional, functional and medical rehabilitation. This style of training does not only bring benefits to the person with a disability, but to all concerned parties. Better training materials combined with more flexible and individualized approaches improve the overall quality of training for everyone.

Specific training programmes for young people with disabilities

In addition to the introduction of quality standards, specialized centres are starting to use names like "Profi-centre" and "Resource-centre", thus illustrating their growing commitment to integrating realistic criteria that reflects the current demands of the labour market into their training. More centres want to create local oriented responses and programmes which are better suited to the needs of youths with disabilities. Specialized training, similar to mainstream training, must continue to respect the right of people with disabilities to make their own informed choices.

Co-ordinating local actions

Successful approaches to integration are very much dependent on the policies and activities of the various agencies and individuals and their effective co-ordination at the local level. This requires building networks or partnerships at regional or local level between public authorities, education and training providers, guidance and employment services, employers and others involved in the labour market as well as NGOs representing people with disabilities. All parties engaged in the process should share responsibility.

The role of the unions

On the basis of their individual expertise and influence, unions should broaden the scope of their political and national priorities to include the representation of people with disabilities. Unions are well situated to have an impact on education and employment policies affecting people with disabilities as they are already committed to defending and promoting workers' rights and improving working conditions.

Job search

Experience shows that targeted job search measures consistently bring about positive results. Candidates are often ill-equipped and ill-prepared to promote themselves and competitively negotiate with an employer; they therefore greatly benefit from professional assistance. The most effective systems are those which provide continuous support throughout a young person's job search and transition from school to work, providing youths a voice in cases where they would otherwise remain unheard.

Promoting job creation

Similar to the current demands on overall employment policies, policies specifically targeted to youth with disabilities need to adopt offensive strategies which promote an increase in demand. As mentioned in the second section of this report, growth should be driven by greater innovation leading to job creation. This in turn must be fed by investments in physical productive capacity, human resources, knowledge and skills. The strategies devised and applied to the general population remain relevant to people with disabilities and should therefore be taken as a cue for action.

Employers must become actively involved in trying to find solutions to the challenges associated with integrating people with disabilities into the open labour market. A growing number of programmes in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom encourage internships inside companies or simulated work environments. Programmes also exist which offer youth with disabilities combinations of training and subsidized work, with a period of work experience in an enterprise where the employers receive subsidies.

The examples in Denmark (the New Partnership for Social Cohesion) and the United Kingdom (the disability symbol) underline the importance of generating commitments from employers to revise their hiring policies. Companies like Pressalit which agree to hire young people with disabilities as apprentices are more likely to hire people with disabilities in future. At the same time, companies are able to gain a better understanding of the competencies of these individuals through a constructive arrangement whereby the apprentice is hired for a limited time (six months) thus affording the company the opportunity to asses his/her competencies. In many cases, this set-up has a similar outcome as awareness raising. As noted earlier, many employers adhere to stereotypes for lack of clearer insight. Revised hiring policies sometimes lead to positive experiences and a subsequent change in attitude.

Commitment on the part of employers to hire people with disability is only one means of improving the integration of these individuals into employment. Attention must also be focused on adapting workplaces to the needs of people with disabilities. Denmark's New Partnership for Social Cohesion is a move in this direction, as companies take responsibility to invest in their own working environments to better accommodate the needs of a diverse workforce.


References

General

Council of Europe. 1988. Legislation on the rehabilitation of disabled people. Strasbourg. European Commission. 1996. "Towards equal opportunities for disabled people." Helios II.

European Commission. 1996. "Transition towards work: a concerted action." Helios II. Empowering disabled people into economic and independent life. Results of the Helios thematic group NR. 2.

European Commission. 1996. "Opening access into employment for people with a visual disability." Helios II. Results of the Helios thematic group NR. 7.

European Commission. 1996. "Vocational training: the individual dimensions." Helios II. Results of the Helios thematic group NR. 3.

European Commission. 1995. "Transition and co-operation." Helios II. E.I.A. Annual reports.

European Commission. 1996. "Europeans working together." Helios II. Seminar report. Belfast.

European Commission. 1995. "Educational work at all levels of education." Helios II. E.I.A. Annual reports.

European Commission. 1996. "Moving from one educational level to another: preparing for transition." Helios II. Results of the Helios thematic group NR. 10.

European Commission. 1996. "Socialization and preparation for independent living: vocational training and education of disabled adults." Helios II. Results of the Helios thematic group Nr. 12.

European Commission. 1996. "European reflections: enhancing co-operation between mainstream and special education." Helios II. Results of the Helios thematic group Nr. 9.

European Commission. 1995. Eurostat. Disabled persons: statistical data.

European Commission. 1996. Employment in Europe. Employment and Social Affairs.

European Commission. 1996. "Better employment opportunities for people with disabilities." Horizon.

European Commission. 1996. "New paths to employment for young people." Youthstart.

European Commission. 1994. "Strategies to improve young people's access to and their progression within initial vocational training." Youthstart.

European Social Fund. 1995. Employment Community Initiative: summaries of the Member States Operational Programmes.

Leichsenring, K.; Strumple, C. 1994. Eurosocial. Employment policies for people with disabilities in the UN - European region. Wien.

Lunt, N.; Thornton, P. 1993. Employment policies for disabled people. University of York.

International Labour Office. 1983. Conference internationale du travail. Recommandation No. 168. Convention No. 159 Concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Person). Geneve.

Invisible citizens. Disabled persons status in the European Treaties. 1995, Denmark

Denmark

Ministry of Social Affairs. 1996. New Partnership for Social Cohesion. Denmark.

Ministry of Education. 1996. Education and training at vocational colleges in Denmark. Denmark.

Germany

Berufsberatung und Ausbildung. 1997. Berufliche Rehabilitation junger Menschen (Handbuch für Schule Berufsberatung und Ausbildung).

Bundesanstalt für Arbeit. 1994. "Berufsberatung fûr Menschen mit Behinderungen." Seminar und europäische Konferenz, Europäische Kommission. Nürnberg.

Bundesanstalt für Arbeit. 1996. "Arbeitsmarkt in Zahlen." Berufliche Rehabilitation.

Blaschke, D.; König, P. 1989. Berufliche Ausbildung jugendlicher Rehabilitanden.

Bordel, R; Butzke, F. 1989. Leben ohne Beruf ?

Brattig,V. 1995. Orientierungs-und Entscheidungshilfen für die berufliche Zukunft durch Berufsfindungs-und Arbeitserprobungsmassnahmen.

Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Sozialordnung. 1995. The integration of disabled persons in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Spain

Consejo Economico y Social. 1995. Informe sobre la situacion del empleo de las personas con discapacidad y propuestas para su rectivacion. Madrid.

Consejo Espanol de Representantes de Minusvalidos. 1994. Plan para reactivacion del empleo de las personas con discapacidad. Madrid.

United Kingdom

Making connections (a guide for agencies helping young people with disabilities make the transition from school to adulthood).

Reguera , L. 1995. A change in outlook: from work to school.

Samoy, E. 1992. Sheltered employment in the European Community.


Annex I

Case Studies

1. Introduction

The intention behind these case studies is not to illustrate specific policies, legislation or programmes, but to present real situations for young people with disabilities which demonstrate the importance of:

  • methodologies able to discover and promote skills and to provide accessible information;

  • interdisciplinary co-operation aiming to develop a coherent and holistic professional perspective;

  • linking training with very narrow labour market contacts;

  • the commitment by companies to develop a proactive policy for disadvantaged people; and

  • the commitment of local communities to promote co-operation among their services and to offer jobs.

  • The case studies aim to underline the principles of a modern training and employment policy which run through the foregoing material. Firstly, training and employment is linked with legal and ethical considerations such as equal participation, valuing disabled people, the right of access to training and employment and the right of access to information; secondly, practical considerations must be recognized mainly in the form of preparation for employment and thirdly, strategic considerations must be recognized in the form of the development of a supportive environment.

1.2 Supported employment in Spain

The interaction of public services in Mallorca aiming at the employment of severely disabled people in the open labour market.(37)

Josep is 30 years old. He is severely mentally retarded and suffers from secondary epilepsy. INSERSO has classified him as 100 per cent handicapped. At the age of 12 years his local municipality had him and his brother of 14 years, who was also severely mentally retarded, committed to the psychiatric hospital in Palma.

The two brothers are the only children of a married couple who live in a country village of about 3,000 inhabitants in Mallorca (España). Their father is a farmer and their mother a housewife. The principal factor affecting this family, however, has been the alcoholism of the mother which originated before the marriage and presumably had a bearing on both pregnancies. As small children both brothers were neglected and suffered not only from a severe lack of affection and care, but also from a certain amount of physical and mental maltreatment.

During the long period of confinement in the psychiatric hospital (18 years), th