Key concepts
Here are some of the key ideas you will need to understand in order to effectively support people with disabilities in the area of wage employment.
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Wage employment options
The three main forms of wage employment available to people with disabilities are:
- Mainstream employment People with disabilities have the right to participate in the mainstream, competitive labor market with the same benefits and wages as other workers.
- Supported employment Some people with disabilities may require ongoing support to be able to participate in a mainstream employment workplace. There is individual placement with support, where a support worker provides on-the-job training as well as the support the worker with disabilities or a system of work crews, where a group of people with disabilities is supported to work together.
- Sheltered employment Some people with disabilities who are unable to obtain or maintain a job in competitive or open employment, with or without support, may work under special and often protected conditions in sheltered employment, usually in a sheltered workshop.
- Government sector
- Non-governmental sector and
- Private sector (including multi-national companies and businesses in both the formal and informal economy)
Employment promotion measures
Many countries have adopted laws and policies that promote the employment of people with disabilities in regular jobs. These include quotas, anti-discrimination measures, positive employment measures, job retention or return-to-work measures, and alternative employment policies.
