Title: Vocational%20Rehabilitation%20and%20Employment%20of%20People%20with%20Disabilities:%20From%20Principles%20to%20Practice
1Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of
People with DisabilitiesFrom Principles to
Practice
- Debra Perry
- Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation
- International Labour Office (ILO)
2Topics / Activities
- Challenges and Barriers
- International Standards
- ILO Conventions and Recommendations
- Current Trends
- Examples of Good Practice
3The 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
4Barriers to Employment
Negative attitudes
Lack of policy support
Unequal accessto education and training
Low self-esteem,overprotective families
Inaccessible buildings and transport
Lack of assistive devices, support services,
information
5Workers 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
6The 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
7Timeline
- 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
8 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
9Basic 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).
10Recommendation No. 99 (1955)
- Covers all disabled people
- Identifies vocational guidance, training and
placement principles - Recommends approaches to implementing principles
11R99 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
12Convention No. 159 (1983)
- Purpose of Vocational Rehabilitation
- Equity issues
- Policy and Action
13Purpose of Vocational Rehabilitation
To enable a disabled person to secure, retain and
advance in suitable employment and thereby to
further such persons integration or
reintegration into society (introduced in C 159
and R 168)
14Serve all types of disabled persons
Services in urban and rural areas
Equity
Among disabled and other workers
Special positive measures okay
Between disabled women and men
15Convention 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
16R168 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
17R168 Create Job Opportunities
18R168 Reduce Barriers to Employment
19ILO Disability Programme
- Policy Advice
- Technical Cooperation Activities
- Research Projects
- Others
- Code of Practice on Disability
- GLADNET - Global Applied Disability and
Information Network on Employment
20Asia Pacific Decade Target Areas
- 1. 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
21Training and Employment Targets
22Trends Affecting Vocational Rehabilitation
- From Charity to Civil Rights
- From the Industrial to the Knowledge Economy
- From Centralized to Community-based Services
23Charity Civil Rights
- The disability movement
- Inclusion of all disability groups
- Medical to social model of disability
- Costs of the welfare state
- The business argument
24Implications
- Disabled people involved in planning, services,
and evaluation - Mainstream services inclusive
- Services more innovative and effective
- All types of disabled persons served
- Multisectoral approaches
25Industrial 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
26Implications
- 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
27Centralized 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
28Implications
- 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