From Learning to Earning: How can inclusive education, training and aquiring skills lead to employment of youth with disabilities?

As educational systems in the EU are struggling with cuts in spending, quality inclusive education within the meaning of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), at all levels and from early childhood onwards, is at stake. There is a general lack of qualified teachers and educational support staff, reasonable accommodation, accessible school buildings and curricula that allow youth with disabilities to build the skills they need to navigate their lives and the open labour market. Persons with disabilities often work in protected employment schemes, such as sheltered workshops with low or no income, and their job may be unrelated to their qualifications.

Meanwhile, employment numbers for persons with disabilities in the open labour market in Europe seem to stagnate. The EU Cohesion Funds, meant to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU, are often used to subsidise segregated employment schemes, rather than supporting employment in the open labour market as per Article 27 of the CRPD. Only few employees with disabilities or those that are carers of dependants with disabilities enjoy disability inclusive policies or get reasonable accommodation in the workplace to perform on equal footing. Meanwhile, the EU is preparing the next multiannual financial framework post 2027 that foresees several cohesion funds and new opportunities to enhance inclusiveness. 

The side event will bring together the EU’s policy makers, including Members of the European Parliament, experts from UNICEF, young people with disabilities and representatives from organisations representing persons with disabilities to discuss how policies on supra-national and national level can strengthen inclusive education in Member States as well as foster employment of youth with disabilities, notably through better policy development and use of cohesion funds.

Light buffet lunch will be available for the participants.