Originally published here.

Points of Interest

 This study explored the experiences of people with disabilities makingtransitions from education and training to employment.

 Providing meaningful employment for people with disabilites after the recession

 Transition planning was often absent to assist people with disabilites make asuccess move into further education and the workplace

 The majority of the respondents in the study reported here want to work, butidentified persistent barriers in moving into employment.

The majority of the respondents in the study reported here want to work, but identified persistant barriers in moving into and retaining paid employment, including both perceived and actual limits to their work-readiness, concerns related to the benefits andrisks of disclosure, efficient provision of accommodations and the need for greater flexibility in the conditions of employment.

Whilst there was a clear expectation thatthey could work, there was an acknowledgement that this represented a considerable personal challenge, particularly as Ireland continued the process of economic recoveryand brought down rates of unemployment. Research on transition to work planning has mainly focussed on young peopleleaving school for the first time. This research focused on people aged 18 and over where there is less evidence of what constitutes best practice for a social group whomay be making the transition into paid employment for the second or even third time, and who have significant life experience to hand.

International evidence suggests thatsuch planning is most effective when, amongst other things, it is person-centred,includes active involvement and real work experience, is supported by interagencycollaboration (Powers et al. 2005), and facilitated by staff skilled in finding andmatching available work to people (Beyer and Kaehne 2010).

Such person-centred planning resounds with the philosophy of the Independent Living Movement and thecommitment it implies for people with disabilities have the right to choose the supportsthey require. While this suggests individualised funding of supports and recognition of people with disabilities as being the experts on their needs, this should not be at the costof individualizing the issue of disability support.

A social model of disability impliesthat society with its able-ist norms and the acceptance of precarious work, must becalled to account.Encouragingly, the recently published Comprehensive Employment Strategy forPeople with Disabilities recognises “the need to promote job retention and re-entry towork for those individuals who acquire a disability during their working years” (Government of Ireland, 2015, p.19). The suggested developments include a programme to train ‘disability champions’ to support colleagues returning to work.

This is a potentially useful strategy in, for example, supporting safe and sustainable return towork for those who acquire a disability through injury at work (Shaw et al. 2008).Disability champions could respond to the needs identified in this research to ensurethat all stakeholders in the transition process –  the prospective worker, the employer andthe educator - work together to develop realistic, meaningful training courses and work placements that are matched to employer, and worker, needs in the immediate, and longer, term future.

The lack of formal transition plans identified in this research might be explained by the majority of these respondents expecting to stay in education/training for theforeseeable future, despite being encouraged by their tutors to apply for jobs. But, in thecontext of changing work patterns, people with disabilities also need alternatives tosecuring work with an employer. In some cases, this may include entrepreneurial skillsfor those who intend to become self-employed.

Policy makers could do more toencourage self-employment amongst people with a disability by specifically focussingon their needs through providing seed-capital and ensuring continuity of benefits (Pagán2009).The disabilities of most of our respondents were not overt, and many expressedtheir reluctance to disclose their disability to prospective employers. The provision ofeffective workplace accommodation relies on the person disclosing their needs, yet,until discrimination, real and perceived, is tackled and reduced, it seems likely that thereluctance to disclose a disability will persist.

There is also a need for accessibleinformation for workers, employers, rehabilitation professionals and other specialistsregarding how to best select and implement reasonable accommodation that is tailoredto meet the needs of the individual and their workplaces (McDowell and Fossey, 2015).This need will be met, in part, by the Government of Ireland funding the establishmentof an employer helpline to provide guidance and peer support in relation to theemployment of people with disabilities (Government of Ireland, 2015, p22).

You can read the complete report here.