Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of People with Disabilities: From Principles to Practice

1. Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of People with Disabilities:From Principles to Practice Debra Perry Senior Specialist in Vocational Rehabilitation International Labour Office (ILO)

2. Topics / Activities • Challenges and Barriers • International Standards • ILO Conventions and Recommendations • Current Trends • Examples of Good Practice

3. 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

4. Barriers 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Timeline • 1955ILO VR Recommendation No. 99 • 1971 UN Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons • 1975UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons • 1981UN International Year of Disabled Persons • 1982UN World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons • 1983-1992UN Decade of Disabled Persons • 1983ILO VR (Disabled) Convention No. 159 • 1983ILO VR (Disabled) Recommendation No. 168 • 1993UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities • 1993-2002Asian 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

9. 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).

10. Recommendation No. 99 (1955) • Covers all disabled people • Identifies vocational guidance, training and placement principles • Recommends approaches to implementing principles

11. 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

12. Convention No. 159 (1983) • Purpose of Vocational Rehabilitation • Equity issues • Policy and Action

13. 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)

14. Services in urban and rural areas Serve all types of disabled persons Equity Among disabled and other workers Special positive measures okay Between disabled women and men

15. 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 Convention No. 159

16. 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

17. R168: Create Job Opportunities

18. R168: Reduce Barriers to Employment

19. 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

20. Asia 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

21. Training and Employment Targets

22. Trends Affecting Vocational Rehabilitation • From Charity to Civil Rights • From the Industrial to the Knowledge Economy • From Centralized to Community-based Services

23. CharityCivil Rights • The disability movement • Inclusion of all disability groups • Medical to social model of disability • Costs of the welfare state • The business argument

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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