SkYE Talk: Issues Unpacked Disability and Inclusion in Training and Employment Issue 01
This Briefing Note presents critical issues that were raised by eminent panellists during the SkYE Programme’s Panel Event on Disability and Inclusion in Training and Employment that was held on 6th October 2022, in Saint Lucia, and online1. The Panel of Experts discussed their experiences within the education, training and employment systems and issued a Call To Action! They identified the next steps that must be taken if training and employment pathways are to become more inclusive for young people with disabilities in the Eastern Caribbean.
INTRODUCING OUR PANELISTS
Hillary Alexander
Signa Greaves-Francis
Parent, Member of the National Disability Council in Grenada & Manager of ANT Company
Founder and Principal, School of Art and Design, Saint Lucia.
Nathalie Murphy
Salena Felicien
Chair of the National Commission of Disability Council, Dominica
SkYE Graduate of the School of Art and Design, Saint Lucia
OUR MODERATOR Reajean Montoute
Krishna Valcin-Satney
Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, formerly CARICOM Youth Ambassador and General Secretary Saint Lucia National Youth Council
Board Member National Council for Persons with Disabilities, Saint Lucia & Local Supplier Coordinator, Massy Stores, Saint Lucia
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You may view the Panel Event in full at www.skyecaribbean.com
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Defining disability, Describing inclusion In our nations, we recognise people with disabilities as being… Anyone with a long-term mental, physical, sensory, intellectual or psychological impairment which with interaction with social barriers may hinder their full and active participation in society on an equal basis with others. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
OUR PANEL EXPLAINED WHAT INCLUSION MEANS… Inclusion means identifying and removing barriers. It’s not about bringing people into what already exists, but making a new space.
We want our voice to be heard, an opportunity to be gainfully employed, and when a promotion comes up we are not judged based on our disability. We want to be somebody who leads their life like a normal person.
Salena Felicien
Nathalie Murphy When I hear the word inclusion, I think about being valued, respected, and important.
Disability is not an inability – your inability does not make you….I believe in encouraging people with disabilities in all aspects of life, they should not be limited to anything in particular. They should be involved in all things… I am not going to limit my children to just school and back. I will expose them to everything that is available to them.
Krishna Valcin-Satney
Hillary Alexander
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BARRIERS TO INCLUSION Stigma, lack of understanding and unfair treatment
Insufficient places within the education system for children with disabilities
Lack of inclusive urban and building design that supports an accessible and enabling environment
Insufficient numbers of education psychologists, assessment, and referral services Barriers experienced by our panellists
Lack of inclusive public transport that provides mobility
Insufficient training of teachers to support inclusive teaching
Insufficient training accessible to youth with disabilities
Lack of engagement by Ministries or support for families
During my educational journey the challenges were more psychological than physical….. due to the constant bullying from a young age, and teachers and lecturers isolating me from the others, I began to self-doubt…. I didn’t experience difficulties in finding employment except for employers doubting my abilities.
If you have been asked to include people with disabilities, you have to ask ‘how much funding do you have, how much have you allotted for that to happen?’… [Often] the training provider cannot provide that assistance on their own.
Signa Greaves-Francis
Salena Felicien
When I was sending out applications. I deliberately did not include that I was a person with a disability, but when I got to interviews, I was told that I could not go into the interview because I was a person with a disability….. I was not given an opportunity for them to even hear about my skills and what I could offer to the organisation.
Krishna Valcin-Satney
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Call to Action! WHAT GOVERNMENTS CAN DO Engage in public awareness campaigns, using the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities as a tool. Legislate for the rights of people with disabilities; promulgate a National Disability Act. Use inclusive design for city planning, urban development and infrastructure. Regulate building codes. Provide budgets to support inclusive urban. Reconsider the ‘Protection of Employment’ legislation which is discriminatory. Public transport to include vehicles that provide inclusive mobility, including wheelchair users. Train teachers in inclusive teaching and learning, and how to ‘teach at the right level’ with all children and young people. Provide financial incentives to the levels necessary to make adaptations for access and inclusion. Mainstream inclusion; educate able-bodied children and children with disabilities together. Collaborate fully with schools, parents and communities to support young people with disabilities. Establish a Task Force to align policies, provide advice on government programmes and monitor implementation. Draw on advice from CARICOM Special Rapporteur for Disability, about what Governments can do, to implement their commitments to the UNCRPWD.
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WHAT TRAINING PROVIDERS CAN DO Develop greater expertise in training students with diverse needs and abilities. Learn more about disability and inclusion. Apply for funding to adapt training facilities and ensure access to students with disabilities. Form partnerships with schools for children with special needs and with employers to create pathways for young people with disabilities, from school to training to work. Build a culture of inclusion and peer support.
WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN DO Engage in awareness campaigns with other employers within the community, using the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities as a tool. Learn more about disability and inclusion and how to be more inclusive. Identify roles and occupations suitable for young people with disabilities, and offer work placements in partnership with training providers. Ensure their premises are accessible to all. Offer equal pay for equal work. Raise awareness about the contribution that people with disabilities make to organisations.
WHAT COMMUNITIES CAN DO Engage in public awareness campaigns using the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPWD) as a tool. Leverage support from CARICOM to build voice and accountability on the UNCRPWD. Educate families and support parents to combat stigma against young people with disabilities. Inclusion is everyone’s responsibility - leave no one behind! 5
We don’t need to have a session like this…. and the next time we come with the same set of questions and answers and nothing has been done. We need to take the bull by the horns. Our governments have information and have facts, and we ourselves need to have the facts so that we stand up with boldness. So we say ‘This is what we know, and we have to get it done!’ If we carry on like this we will have the month of the disabled every October, and nothing comes out of it. We need to stand up as parents and People with Disabilities and let people in authority know, ‘’Here we are. We are serious people we need to move on from this position to the next’’.
Hillary Alexander
www.skyecaribbean.com
@SkYECaribbean
@SkYEintheCaribbean
@skyecaribbean
Acknowledgements We acknowledge with thanks, our panellists, audience and online contributors at the SkYE Panel Event on Disability and Inclusion - Including Me, Including You! We would also like to thank our programme partners – the National Training Associations and Training Providers of Grenada, Saint Lucia, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Skills for Youth Employment (SkYE) Programme in the Caribbean is a 5-year programme funded by UK aid which aims to develop a more productive, better trained and inclusive workforce across four countries- St Vincent & the Grenadines, St Lucia, Dominica and Grenada. The objective of the programme is to develop relevant market skills among young people (aged 15-30) in the Eastern Caribbean to promote greater youth employment, greater productivity and greater inclusiveness in the labour market, including better training and employment access for disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities. The programme aims to improve the quality, reach and sustainability of technical and vocational education and training in the four focus countries.
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