Zambia: Decent work for disabled youth through skills development
English
ILO
The International Labour Organization is the tripartite U.N. agency that promotes Decent Work through employment, social security, labour standards and social dialogue. Its work on skills development is guided by the conceptual framework on Skills to improve productivity, employment growth, and development agreed in 2008 by representatives of Governments, Employers’ Associations and Workers’ Associations. Research, policy advice, and pilot projects and technical cooperation programmes to apply good practices in different circumstances across its 185 member States aims to boost the employability of workers, the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises, and the inclusiveness of economic growth. The ILO Secretariat in offices in 40 countries works with Ministries of Labour, employers’ organizations, and trade unions to integrate skills development into national and sector development strategies in order to better meet current labour market needs and to prepare for the jobs of the future; to expand access to employment-related training so that youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are better able to acquire skills and secure productive and decent work; and to improve the ability of public employment services to provide career guidance, maintain labour exchange services, and deliver active labour market programmes.For more information regarding the ILO’s work on skills and employability go to: http://www.ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm; for ILO/Cinterfor's Knowledge Management Plarform, see: http://www.oitcinterfor.org
People with disabilities
Of an estimated 1 billion people with disabilities in the world today, some 785 million are of working age. While many are successfully employed and fully integrated into society, most face a disproportionate level of poverty and unemployment. This is a massive loss both to them and their countries. A strategy of including people with disabilities in training and employment promotion policies, combined with targeted supports to ensure their participation, can help disabled persons obtain productive mainstream employment.
Case studies and good practices
Case studies that document good practices and illustrate the benefits and lessons learnt of particular approaches or methods in real practice.
International Labour Organization-Irish Aid Partnership Programme on Disability
The ILO-Irish Aid Partnership Programme funds projects that focus on the specific needs of people with disabilities. A current technical cooperation project Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Employment through Legislation (PROPEL), 2012-2015, works to facilitate access to mainstream skills development programmes and other relevant training, and to promote respect for the rights of persons with disabilities and an enabling legal and policy environment through acceptance of disability as a prohibited ground of discrimination.
During 2012-13, in Zambia the ILO-Irish Aid PROPEL project supported five technical vocational education and training colleges in fostering learning environments that enabled the enrolment and training of women and men with disabilities. This case story illustrates the change the Partnership has made in facilitating access to young disabled persons to mainstream vocational training open to the general population.