1 vocational rehabilitation and employment of people with disabilities: from principles to practice...
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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of People with Disabilities:
From Principles to Practice
Debra Perry
Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation
International Labour Office (ILO)
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Topics / Activities
1 Challenges and Barriers
2 International Standards
3 ILO Conventions and Recommendations
4 Current Trends
5 Examples of Good Practice
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The Challenge
600 million disabled people worldwide 370 million in Asia 386 million of working-age worldwide 238 million in Asia Most live in rural areas Unemployment rates are double that of the general
population and as high as 80 percent Disability and poverty are linked The socioeconomic costs are high
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Barriers to Employment
Lack of policy support
Lack of assistive devices, support services, information
Inaccessible buildings and transport
Unequal accessto education and training
Negative attitudes
Low self-esteem,overprotective families
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Workers with Disabilities
• Are capable and talented
• Can work and perform on par with their peers (Dupont Study (U.S.), Lou Harris poll (U.S.), Marriot (U.S.), Centrica (UK), Tricon Restaurants (Australia)
• Have greater job retention
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The Response: Promote Full Participation
• International Declarations, Standards etc.
• Regional Decade of Disabled Persons
• National Legislation and Policies
• Service Delivery Systems and Programs
• Self-Help and Advocacy Groups
• Promoting Awareness
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Timeline• 1955 ILO VR Recommendation No. 99
• 1971 UN Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons
• 1975 UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
• 1981 UN International Year of Disabled Persons
• 1982 UN World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons
• 1983-1992 UN Decade of Disabled Persons
• 1983 ILO VR (Disabled) Convention No. 159
• 1983 ILO VR (Disabled) Recommendation No. 168
• 1993 UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
• 1993-2002 Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons
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The ILO and People with Disabilities
• Decent work for all - non-discrimination• Equality of opportunity• Equality of treatment• Mainstreaming in training and employment• Choice• Special measures• Community participation• Tripartite consultations • Involvement of disabled persons and NGOs
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Basic Definitions: ILO Instruments
• Disabled Person: An individual whose prospects of securing and retaining suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of physical or mental impairment (introduced in R 99).
• Vocational Rehabilitation: That part of the continuous and coordinated process of rehabilitation which involves the provision of those vocational services, e.g. vocational guidance, vocational training and selective placement, designed to enable a disabled person to secure and retain suitable employment (introduced in R 99).
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Recommendation No. 99 (1955)
• Covers all disabled people
• Identifies vocational guidance, training and placement principles
• Recommends approaches to implementing principles
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R99: Highlights
• Use existing services• Enable disabled people to use services• Include employers and trade unions • Foster cooperation between medical and VR• Expand vocational opportunities• Establish sheltered workshops/homebound• Develop services for children and youth
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Convention No. 159 (1983)
• Purpose of Vocational Rehabilitation
• Equity issues
• Policy and Action
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Purpose of Vocational Rehabilitation
To enable a disabled person to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment and thereby to further such person’s integration or reintegration into society (introduced in C 159 and R 168)
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Serve all types of disabled persons
Among disabled and other workers
Between disabled women and men
Special positive measures okay
Services in urban and rural areas
Equity
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Convention No. 159
POLICY National VR Input from employers,
labor unions, and people with disabilities
Fosters open employment
ACTION Includes the delivery
and evaluation of VR services
Has provisions for competent personnel and staff training
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R168: Highlights
• Expands VR principles• Suggests measures to increase employment
opportunities• Encourages full community participation• Provides approaches to equalize rural and urban services• Identifies strategies for VR staff development• Specifies mechanisms for engaging workers’,
employers’ and disabled persons’ organizations
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R168: Create Job Opportunities
In the openlabour market
Provide financial incentives to employers fortraining, employment, adaptations
Provisions of part-time and other job arrangements Disseminate information on success cases Additional research
In the informal,self-employmentsector
Encourage establishment of small scale industries,cooperatives, and other types of productionworkshops
In shelteredemployment
Provide government support Encourage cooperation between sheltered and
production workshops Government support to eliminate potential for
exploitation and to facilitate transition to openmarket
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R168: Reduce Barriers to Employment
VR services Provide government support Provide follow-up to assess effectiveness Consider all forms of training, ILS,
literacy, etc.
Physical, communication,architectural andtransport barriers
Eliminate existing barriers, by stages, ifnecessary
Consider standards in new buildings andconstruction
Facilitate transportation
Devices etc. Removes taxes, import barriers andrelated fees and levies
Provide aids, devices and personalservices
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ILO Disability Programme
Policy Advice Technical Cooperation Activities Research Projects Others:
– Code of Practice on Disability – GLADNET - Global Applied Disability and
Information Network on Employment
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Asia Pacific Decade Target Areas1. National coordination
2. Legislation
3. Information, 4. Public awareness
5. Accessibility and Communication
6. Education
7. Training and Employment
8. Prevention of causes of disability
9. Rehabilitation
10. Assistive devices
11. Self-help organizations
12. Regional cooperation
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Training and Employment Targets
Collaborative bodyto ensure vocationaltraining relevancy
Accessibility ofmainstreamtraining
Equitable participationin poverty alleviationand income generation
Better curricula andsupport services
National placementtargets and policies
Self-employmentschemes
Services and fundsfor those withextensive disabilities
Gender-equitabletargets for allministries
Monitoring andevaluation body
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Trends Affecting Vocational Rehabilitation
• From Charity to Civil Rights
• From the Industrial to the Knowledge Economy
• From Centralized to Community-based Services
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Charity Civil Rights
• The disability movement
• Inclusion of all disability groups
• Medical to social model of disability
• Costs of the welfare state
• The business argument
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Implications
• Disabled people involved in planning, services, and evaluation
• Mainstream services inclusive
• Services more innovative and effective
• All types of disabled persons served
• Multisectoral approaches
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Industrial Knowledge Economy
• New focus on information and technology• Globalization • ICT and new work tools • Businesses must be leaner, meaner and smarter • Fast-paced, changing, more competitive
workplace• Threats and opportunities for disabled persons
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Implications
• Training must address new technology
• Training must be flexible
• English language important
• New work structures (e.g. teleworking)
• Life-long learning important
• Must meet employer needs
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Centralized Community
• More attention, autonomy to communities
• Fewer resources and weaker infrastructures
• Different needs and standards
• Greater reliance on informal sector and self-employment for jobs
• More family and community involvement
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Implications
• Standard VR practices may not apply
• Each community has different resources and needs
• Community based services must reflect them
• All resources should be tapped
• Services and staff must be flexible and diverse
• Expand concept of employment (e.g. self-employment, cooperative)
• Poverty alleviation and income generation programs should include disabled people
• Full community participation