Publication

Indigenous Persons with Disabilities: Access to Training and Employment

This paper was prepared as a resource for a panel discussion organized by the ILO in cooperation with the Government of Australia during the 14th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on 23 April 2015 in New York.

This paper is intended to contribute to the call originating from the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (United Nations General Assembly, 2014) outcome document by providing a first overview of the available data regarding access to employment for indigenous women and men with disabilities

The paper concentrates on the following objectives:

- examining international experiences in the vocational training and employment of indigenous persons with disabilities,

- highlighting examples of good practice and successful outcomes, as well as examples of initiatives that have not worked well;

- discussing ways in which skills training and preparation for work contribute to the successful employment of indigenous persons with disabilities, looking at training and active labour market programmes targeting indigenous peoples, and whether these are disability-inclusive;

- describing and commenting on the policy frameworks that seem most conducive to promoting training and employment opportunities for this group; and,

- examining issues relating to land property rights and how these impact on livelihood.