Readiness for Employment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

Program Ujedinjenih naroda za razvoj (United Nations Development Programme - UNDP), Hrvatska, 2007. godine financirao je projekt The Right to Live in a Community: Social Inclusion and Persons with Disabiliities, dio kojega je i znanstveno istraživanje: Utvrđivanje spremnosti osoba s invaliditetom za zapošljavanje, dio kojega će biti prezentiran u ovom radu. Cilj je rada, na uzorku od 85 nezaposlenih osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama iz sve četiri regije Republike Hrvatske, utvrditi samoprocjenu stabilnosti njihovih profesionalnih kompetencija, razinu poduzetih aktivnosti i percipiranih prepreka pri traženju zaposlenja, kao i samoprocjenu radnih i životnih vrijednosti. Za obradu Upitnikom o zapošljavanju za osobe s invaliditetom (Kiš-Glavaš, 2007.) prikupljenih podataka, korištene su statističke metode - regresijska analiza i izračunate korelacije. Rezultati pokazuju da se razina poduzetih aktivnosti s ciljem traženja posla kod ispitanika razlikuje u odnosu na dužinu njihove nezaposlenosti te da se samoprocijenjene radne, ali i općenito životne vrijednosti ispitanika, razlikuju u odnosu na razinu njihovog zadovoljstva statusom nezaposlene osobe. Također, uočeno je da se duže nezaposleni ispitanici nisu spremni dodatno osposobljavati, kao i osobe s više radnog staža (osim ako bi netko drugi snosio troškove njihovog osposobljavanja), kao i ispitanici zadovoljni svojim statusom nezaposlene osobe te ispitanici, prema njihovoj samoprocjeni, stabilnijih profesionalnih kompetencija. U zaključku su prezentirana neka rješenja kojima bi se, sukladno individualnim osobitostima, mogla povećati spremnost, a time i razina zapošljivosti osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama. To su primjena modela Zapošljavanja uz potporu s treningom na radnom mjestu i educiranjem poslodavaca i suradnika, kao i sustavno provođenje tranzicijskih programa u periodu nezaposlenosti.In 2007, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Croatia funded the project The Right to Live in a Community: Social Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. This paper presents a section of the results from the study Determining the Readiness for Employment of Persons with Disabilities, which is part of the aforementioned project. A total of 85 unemployed persons with intellectual disabilities from all four regions of the Republic of Croatia participated in the study. The aim was to identify how the participants self-assess the permanence of their job competencies, the extent of actions taken to seek employment, perceived barriers, and how they self-assess their career and life values. The data were collected using the Employment Questionnaire for Persons with Disabilities (Kiš-Glavaš, 2007.), and were analysed using the statistical methods of regression analysis and correlation. The results showed that the extent of actions taken to seek employment varies depending on how long participants have been unemployed, and that self-assessed career and general life values vary depending on their level of satisfaction with being unemployed. The results also showed that the following groups of participants were not willing to undergo additional training: those who were unemployed for a longer period of time, persons with longer years of service (unless somebody else would pay for the training), persons who are satisfied with being unemployed and persons who assess themselves as having more permanent job competencies. We will conclude with presenting some solutions which, according to their individual characteristics, could increase the willingness for employment, and, in consequence, the employability of persons with intellectual disabilities. These solutions include the implementation of Supportive Employment model, with training at workplace and educating employers and co-workers. They also include systematic enforcement of transition programmes during unemployment periods