Work without barriers, or how to support people with disabilities in the labor market

- We are pleased that once again we can discuss the needs of such a wide range of people, what is valuable for people with disabilities and share good practices. For the Karkonosze Regional Council for Persons with Disabilities, the focus is always on the person, so all the projects implemented are aimed at improving the quality of life of the OzN and supporting them in their daily functioning. KSON is a team of people - trainers, vocational counselors and a group of psychologists, who are united by a common denominator - the welfare of our beneficiaries. - emphasized Stanislaw Schubert, president of the Karkonosze Association of People with Disabilities.

The event opened with the debate "#WorkWithoutBarriers. People with Disabilities on the Labor Market - Yesterday Today and Tomorrow" with the participation of representatives of NGOs, employers and public institutions such as PFRON, ZUS, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, which was moderated by Wojciech Szeląg, journalist and TV presenter.

Synergy between the government and local administrations, OzN organizations and businesses, allows for the creation of appropriate working and living conditions in a barrier-free society. That's why it's so important for us to have a joint dialogue and undertake solutions for bridging exclusion and improving accessibility for OzN. We want to map the needs of entrepreneurs in each sector and find them the right experts and employees who, as a result of the projects we implement, i.e. Stable Employment, ABSOLWENT - set to work , WłaczamON! or ZatrudniONy+, will acquire the right qualifications, strengthen their skills and, I assure you, will be the best staff in their company. - indicated Iwona Pikosz-Nuñez, general coordinator of KSON's pro-employment projects, managing director of CSI Projekty Sp. z o.o.

Undoubtedly, we are witnessing how much society's attitude towards people with disabilities is changing, a mutual acceptance that makes us see that diversity can be an asset, not an obstacle. This makes people with disabilities more open, they are not ashamed of their disability, which positively affects the process of social and professional activation and integration. - As a hearing-impaired person, it happens to me that I miss parts of a conversation and have to ask for repetition. This used to be difficult. But now I am more open-minded. For example, 30 years ago glasses weren't as common or seen as attractive as they are today either, and now most of us sitting here wear them. In the same way, I have begun to treat my hearing aid as an ornament, a piece of jewelry. I currently have a pink earmold, which I like very much. It's just that we now have the opportunity to express ourselves, and I encourage that as well. - KSON Project participant.

Openness to diversity is not only about people with disabilities, it is openness to other cultures, customs, appearance. That's why education from an early age is so important here. - Education should be multifaceted - we should all learn from each other. That's why I'm very happy that there are programs that help people with disabilities "come out of the shadows" and open up, where they have professional help from both a psychologist and a career counselor. It is extremely important to cross that first barrier of fear and uncertainty. - said Andrzej Drozd, vice president of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (PUIG).

Extremely important in this process is comprehensive rehabilitation, the goal of which is to restore the highest possible level of functioning and quality of life for a person, including in society, including the possibility of professional work. Vocational rehabilitation makes it easier for people with disabilities to find and keep suitable jobs, as well as to advance in their careers, opportunities to participate in vocational counseling, training and job placement. - The State Fund for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, which I represent, exists firstly to support activities aimed at employment of persons with disabilities, to initiate such activities and finance them, of course, with the participation of NGOs and local government units. It is precisely career counseling, specialized training and career placement programs that are becoming increasingly popular among people with disabilities. First of all, the number of organizations carrying out these tasks with the support of PFRON has almost doubled over the past 5 years. As for the amount of funding the Fund allocates to this area of support, it has increased almost fivefold, from 26,000,000, to 120,000,000 planned for this year. Meanwhile, there are already thousands of participants in this project. Comparing 2023 to 2018, we have an increase of more than 10,000 to 22,000 beneficiaries currently. - emphasized the representative of PFRON.

PFRON also subsidizes sign language courses, which can also be used by employers and others in the OzN community, and subsidizes employers' wages to pay an employee with a disability rating.

- As part of the ongoing projects, we support more than 1,000 beneficiaries. At the same time offering more than 800 internship positions, which provides great opportunities for professional development for people with disabilities. One of the successes, is the fact that already at the first stage of the "I include ON" program, more than 1/3 of the beneficiaries received employment, that is, more than 50 people. This confirms what a real impact such initiatives and activities undertaken by NGOs have on the life and functioning of OzN. - Adrian Adrzejewski, Development Coordinator of KSON, said.

In 2011, the World Health Organization and the World Bank published the first-ever report on disability. It indicated that there were 1,000,000,000 people living with disabilities worldwide. Twelve years later, the number has risen to 1,300,000,000 globally. - The report noted that people with disabilities live up to 20 years less than people without disabilities. They also have problems with accessibility in terms of health care and social assistance. Speaking of our region - 85,000,000 Europeans are people with disabilities. The average employment rate for OzN in Europe is 50.4%, in Poland the rate is lower, hovering around 30%. Nevertheless, what is significant is that "return to work" programs are common in European countries. This is a practice used all over the world, which brings results. E.g., if a person suffers an accident at work, there is a whole efficient system in place, managed by a coordinator, to make sure that the person, after surgery and rehabilitation, returns to the labor market, so that he or she is not a person receiving benefits and simply inactive, but returns to activity. - noted Krzysztof Czechowski, ZUS Accessibility Coordinator.

- I am very impressed by what you are doing and how you are dealing with the barriers that appear on the Polish labor market, and I hope that these barriers will become fewer and fewer by the way. Personally, I try to keep an eye on this as the person in charge of the labor market and social integration in terms of the European Social Fund. One of the main goals of this funding is to strive to strengthen social cohesion, and we can achieve this both through measures in the labor market and by looking for opportunities to mix areas of social exclusion. In principle, the European Social Fund touches on everything. From communication accessibility, architectural accessibility, digital accessibility, to vocational activation, social activation in all these areas. Since 2014, 650,000 people with disabilities have benefited from support in this area. In 2020, we launched the Knowledge Education Development program together with the Ministry of Family and Social Policy to test a new approach to employing people with disabilities in the labor market - supported employment, which has already benefited 12,000 people. - Lukasz Mikulec, head of the Labor Market and Social Integration Department, Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, said. - Very important in the implementation of these projects is the ability to diagnose the different needs of people with disabilities. And that's why we need specialists in those professions that are really the most expected, required at the implementation level, supported employment.

In the second part of the day, practical workshops to develop skills in navigating the labor market, self-presentation and motivation brought together a large number of KSON's charges, professionally inactive people. It was an opportunity to meet with trainers who conduct vocational activation programs tailored to the needs of individual beneficiaries on a daily basis, among them career counselors, psychologists and coaches and representatives of employment agencies. Workshop participants had the opportunity to learn about the current offer of vocational development, internship and apprenticeship programs for the OzN implemented by KSON with the support of PFRON.

- A vocational counselor is a kind of "first bumper," a person who aims to confront the beneficiary with reality, not only vocational, but also to embed the person in the community," stressed Jan Duda, KSON vocational counselor. - Therefore, work with people with disabilities is primarily focused on individual conversation. The vocational counselor asks not only about one's work experience, education or qualifications, but also focuses on one's family situation, fears that arise, barriers, limitations, as well as skills and career preferences and predispositions. - Added JoannaSobczak, KSON career counselor.

Work provides new opportunities. - It allows you to grow, expand new horizons, meet new people and protects you from discrimination in society. In the KSON Project I receive substantive support, I get the opportunity to learn new things and expand my knowledge. - KSON Project participant noted.

Source: press mat.