An important part of the PASS IT ON project is an analysis of the current situation, needs and challenges faced in the field of employment for persons with disabilities in the five Southeastern European countries involved in the project: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Malta and Romania.
Each of the five organisation involved in the project provided the Committee of Experts (the Scientific and Validation Committee, SVC) with information regarding the employment of persons with disabilities in their countries. This information gave us a better insight into what each organization needs in order to go about improving the position of persons with disabilities in the open labour market. They also expressed the challenges they experienced in their attempts to realise this aim.
According to our plan the five Southeastern European countries will organise seminar meetings in 2010 to disseminate the material produced in the project. During these they will focus on current situations at national level. Some organisations have already provided insights into their situations in their country reports. However, because situations are likely to change with different political and economic developments over time, we have also asked organisations to update their reports so that the most recent information is available by the time the seminars take place.
Based on the information we received from the country reports, a list has been compiled of the main requirements of organisations focusing on the issue of employment for persons with disabilities on the open labour market.
In the section that follows we will sum-up the needs, challenges and recommended focus areas of the individual national reports.
1. Czech Republic
Need
In short, the source of most of the problems and needs with regard to the employment of persons with disabilities in the Czech Republic lies in the systematic changes of legislation that take place there, in a lack of motivation on the part of persons with disabilities which can be explained in part by the benefit trap (‘why should I start to work?’), and in the lack of integrated rehabilitation and positive evaluation of persons with disabilities that exists there. There is a clear need to create new jobs for persons with disabilities, to encourage employers in the open labour market to take active steps, and finally, to better understand the way in which persons with disabilities can successfully be employed.
Challenge
The challenges in the Czech Republic lie in providing adequate support, in promoting sheltered employment as a positive step towards employment in the open labour market, in legislating in favour of supported employment (at the moment there is no legislation for supported employment in the Czech Republic – it is not included in social services), in improving communication between employers and persons with disabilities, in developing social enterprises, and in promoting corporate responsibility.
Focus
The Czech partner identified some aspects related to the country’s situation which the experts of the PASS IT ON project were asked to look at when choosing the material to be included in the compilation. How to help people to switch from sheltered employment to the open labour market, the different European models of employment of persons with disabilities, how the state supports their employment, the promotion of employment of persons with disabilities in general, the different models of financial incentives for employing persons with disabilities, and social enterprise experience were topics that the Czech partner highlighted and felt should be addressed in the country.
2. Hungary
Need
Hungary highlighted a need for more new methods of measuring the skills of persons with disabilities. Previous project experience showed that methods capable of assertaining the concrete requirements of a prospective job and the general skills that the employee needs would be very welcome in the country. The system needs to be improved through the concrete implementation of the projects’ findings. This is why the Hungarian partner looked carefully at the tools for measuring social skills/competences developed in the Atlas project. It is fair to remark that the adult education system for persons with intellectual disabilities is not elaborate enough in Hungary and that there is a lack of adult training programmes for this target group.
Challenge
Hungary has a widespread system devoted to employing persons with disabilities. There are lots of sheltered workplaces and ways to help people to get a real job such as supported employment. This work well, but the situation can still be improved. For example, both management and the front-line staff could be trained better in helping persons with disabilities to choose, get and retain a job. Hungary considers change management (changing the way people think) with regard to the employment of persons with disabilities a huge priority, specifically with regard to persons with intellectual disabilities. The main guidelines suggested for facilitating the employment of these people are: to place them in activities that respond to the real needs of society and in the production of valuable and good quality goods, and to make the employment of persons with disabilities as similar as possible to mainstream employment.
Focus
Hungary considers that in order to increase access to the labour market for persons with intellectual disabilities, the focus should not only be on the development of vocational knowledge, but also on the development of social skills.
3. Bulgaria
Need
According to the Bulgarian law for the integration of persons with disabilities there are three employment possibilities: a) in the ordinary environment, b) in specialised enterprises and c) in cooperatives for persons with disabilities and in the development of private businesses. In practice however most of the persons with disabilities that are included in the labour process are found in specialised enterprises, due to the unwillingness of employers to hire them, despite the existing quota for hiring persons with disabilities at work. Other barriors lie in the architectural/infrastructure that exists there, and in the fact that few persons with disabilities are professionally qualified (their level of education is often too low).
On the other hand there is no system which supports the employers in making relevant adaptations to the work place to facilitate the needs of persons with disabilities. In the present economic situation, and when a cheap and trained work force is readily available to them, the owners of such companies have little incentive to adapt the working environment out of their own resources.
Challenge
Bulgaria has challenges to face mainly in the following areas: upgrading the level of education, increasing the opportunities for persons with disabilities to enter the open labour market, implementing the quota system for hiring persons with disabilities, increasing interest in the issue within the private sector. The situation is further aggravated by the many specialized enterprises for persons with disabilities which exist there, but which are currently letting them go in large numbers. These people usually leave without an education or qualifications, and so the vicious cycle continues; lack of policy leads to lack of education and qualifications, and eventually to the break-down of the system of specialised enterprises for persons with disabilities.
Focus
In the field of employment, emphasis must be place on encouraging employers to hire persons with disabilities and to invest in making suitable adaptations to the work place.
4. Malta
Need
In Malta there is a need for school leavers with disabilities to develop their potential in order to progress to further vocational studies or employment. This means that it must further develop its Inclusive Education system by upgrading Vocational and Educational Training opportunities for students with disabilities who finish compulsory education in mainstream settings.
Challenge
It will be a big challenge for Malta to increase the number of persons with disabilities in the open labour market and to help them retain their jobs. For this, its employment support services will have to be enhanced. Helping day centre service providers to switch to community-based training practices to encourage the greater independence and inclusion of persons with disabilities in society will also be nescessary.
Focus
The promotion of an inclusive employment culture amongst all stakeholders should be the main focus in Malta. Malta underlined that the main actors targeted should be inclusive Vocational and Educational Training planners and providers, supported employment service providers, managers and staff of day centres, employer organisations, human resources managers and parents/persons with disabilities.
5. Romania
Need
Like Bulgaria, Romania also drew attention to the quota system that is in place there which requires that persons with disabilities make up four per cent of the workforce in companies with over 50 employees, and in state authorities with at least 25 employees who do not have the statute of civil service commissioners. This quota applies both to public and private sector enterprises. There is also a law stating that employers who hire persons with disabilities on open contracts will receive a monthly sum equal to one-and-a-half times the minimum wage for a period of 18 months. However, there is no monitoring to gauge compliance with this policy, and the measures have limited effect, as the employer may dismiss the employee two years after the initial 18-month period.
There are also no statistics available regarding the employment of persons with intellectual disabilities. Data on the employment of persons other disabilities is generally not available either. If a company can prove that it requested applications from persons with disabilities through the National Agency for Employment, but that no one applied, it is exempt from penalties. This exemption is abused, as businesses can simply advertise positions requiring qualifications higher than a person with disabilities could possibly meet. There are no specific requirements regarding the employment of persons with intellectual disabilities.
Challenge
In Romania, there is no methodological model elaborated by the Government for the supported employment of persons with intellectual disabilities on the open market. Services for persons with intellectual disabilities are highly-specialised to meet the needs of users, and currently only a few NGOs across Romania have developed supported employment programmes.
The main challenge that exists in Romania with regard to the employment of persons with intellectual disabilities is not that of helping them to find jobs, but rather that of helping them to retain these jobs. While persons with intellectual disabilities may be able to meet job requirements, they do not always have the social skills needed to be a part of the workplace and to interact with their colleagues.
Focus
The NGO-operated workshops can best be described as training workplaces, where people with intellectual disabilities can learn skills for potential future jobs on the open market while also improving their social and communication skills. These workshops accept anyone from the local area, the only criteria being an individual’s willingness to attend and the willingness of the parents to allow their children’s participation. People with severe and profound intellectual disabilities attend these workshops.
Supported employment, in which people with intellectual disabilities work closely with a coach or colleague on the job, has been an effective model for improving employment opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities.
6. Conclusion
The PASS IT ON project clearly focuses on employment in the open labour market, and aims to raise awareness of this issue. The country reports reflect the particular countries’ situations, needs and challenges in choosing, getting and keeping a job suitable for persons with disabilities. Some countries did not focus solely on the open labour market, but stressed the importance of this project while focusing on a gap that more than likely exists in other European states too.
In conclusion, we can say that:
- The Czech Republic will look for material to help people to switch from sheltered employment to the open labour market
- Hungary has a need for a greater number of more innovative methods to measure skills and to train people to help both management and front-line staff to help persons with disabilities to choose, get (and especially) retain a job
- Bulgaria needs to encourage employers to hire persons with disabilities and to invest in adapting the working environment
- Malta is looking for material which will help persons with disabilities to develop their potential (especially school leavers), as well as material which will also enhance services, enable more persons with disabilities to join the labour market and to retain their jobs
- Romania needs materials to assist persons with disabilities in the development of social skills, in order to better help them retain their jobs. There is also a need to raise awareness amongst employers.
This chapter has given a detailed overview of the situation in the partner countries, especially with regard to the needs and requirements that exist, and challenges that are faced. The next chapter will focus on what the open labour market itself should know about the employment of persons with disabilities, so that it is in a position to welcome and fully integrate them within it.
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