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The labour market situation of people with disabilities in EU25
- Authors:
- SHIMA Isilda, ZOLYOMI Eszter, ZAIDI Ashgar
- Publisher:
- European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 17p.
- Place of publication:
- Vienna
The peculiarity of this analysis is that differently from other studies it is performed using the statistics of the employment status of people with disabilities drawn from administrative registers of the Member States. The statistics from administrative registers show that people with disabilities are mainly part of those working age groups classified as unemployed or inactive; only a modest fraction is part of the employed working age population. Nevertheless, the number of people with disabilities in ordinary employment has increased and that sheltered employment varies among the Member States. With regard to labour market measures the EU Member States have been going through a shift from passive measures towards (active) labour market integration policies. The demographic trends and the resulting shrinking of the labour force in the future emphasize the importance of shifting from a passive compensation system to an active integration programme and making best use of the available workforce. People with disabilities can represent a significant addition to the labour force and thus contribute to economic production. Many EU Member States have made an effort to break down the discrimination barriers with respect to disability and to consider these people as an integral part of society and the workforce, but more integrative measures and programmes have to emerge.
A comparative study of the situation of supported employment in Europe
- Authors:
- BEYER Stephen, DE URRIES Francisco de Borja, VENDUGO Miguel Angel
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 7(2), June 2010, pp.130-136.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
A web-based questionnaire about the services at agencies offering supported employment (SE) in the European Union (EU) yielded responses from 184 organisations from mostly, Spain, Finland and United Kingdom, (also Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal and Romania) in October-December 2006. Most respondents offered a wide range of services, with 83% offering SE (50% beginning in last 5 years). Services such as vocational training and sheltered work provision were offered by 40% and 25%, respectively. Significant variation in the provision of the 5 elements of SE, vocational profiling, job finding, analysis and placement, job training and support (skilled job trainer/on-the-job co-worker) and follow-along services was evident which could disadvantage people with intellectual or learning disabilities (ID). Funding of SE varied with 22% relying on short term European financing. People with ID were the largest (35%) group of users of SE. Working hours varied with 73% working over 24 hours-a-week and a minority on permanent contract, except in the UK where SE remains largely part time (37% less than 12 hours-a-week) suggesting poor harmonisation within welfare benefit legislation provision across the EU, disproportionately affecting people with ID, say these authors. Variation in models used, financing, hours of support (already low, say these authors) may lead to less effective SE and a call is made for follow-up studies.