EASPD conference in Istanbul, 27-28 September 2013
Mié, 02/10/2013
EASPD has just concluded its conference in Istanbul dedicated to the theme of employment. The conference, Employment of persons with disabilities - Raising awareness & employment opportunities, was opened by Commissioner Andor, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies of Turkey, representatives of the ILO and the Council of Europe, the President of the Assembly of European Regions and by EASPD’s President Franz Wolfmayr.
The current state of play of employment for persons with disabilities is not easy and has been worsened by the economic crisis that has hit Europe in the last years.
In the last decade a strong movement fighting for mainstreaming set the basis for a revolution in employment schemes for persons with disabilities. Today we acknowledge that many efforts have been done to bring persons with disabilities to the labour market, however, the low success rate of people with disabilities employed shows that the efforts needed to achieve wider employment have been underestimated.
Franz Wolfmayr, President of EASPD, said that “today there are no more jobs in the open labour market than 15 years ago. This is both in terms of implementation of policies and of human rights enjoyment a failure. We call on action now to avoid further loss in economic and societal added value”.
The creation of job potential for both employers and employees with disabilities is a complex but not impossible objective. There is a need for more efficient and concrete resources to organise trainings and reduce the gap between the learning path and the professional environment. Stable funding and legal frameworks are fundamental to boost employment and promote flexibility, mobility and therefore a wider spectrum of employment opportunities that fit the individual needs and skills needs to be available and easy to use.
During the conference an official award was given to the Institute for Social Services (IFS) of Austria with their project Spagat. The winner, as well as all participants of the award competition, proved that real working opportunities for persons with disabilities exist, provided the proper support and structures are put into place. For more information on the contest click here.
EASPD calls for stronger partnerships with all DPOs, with civil society stakeholders, with politicians and with the business world in order for each group to contribute within its field of specialty and ensure common objectives are reached. Iles of excellence exist, but more resources need to be allocated to make them common practice.
EASPD highlights once again the importance of collecting data on disability to create legislative frameworks and tools that fit the actual situation of persons with disabilities and calls on a stronger monitoring of the European Employment Directive.