Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Employment through Legislation (PROPEL-China)

PROPEL-China PhaseII will continue to support capacity building, and policy development in promoting training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and persons with intellectual disabilities in particular as well as providing support to the fostering of non-discrimination against people with disabilities in employment and occupation in general. The programme will also contribute to strengthened media capacity to report on the rights of persons with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities and portray their working capacities.

Partners

Target Beneficiaries

The ultimate beneficiaries will be workers with disabilities in the informal and formal economies, especially those with intellectual disabilities.
The direct beneficiaries of this project will be the China Association of Persons with Intellectual Disability and their Relatives (CAPIDF), Employment and Education Department of CDPF, tripartite constituents, the Advocacy Department of CDPF, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) centers, and media and service providers.

Geographical Focus

Country: China
Provinces: Hunan province, Guangzhou, Jilin province, Shandong province, Beijing, Dalian, Shenzhen, and Shanghai

Project Objective

The project aims to create better work and employment opportunities for men and women with disabilities (especially those with intellectual disabilities). It aims to do so through the creation of an enabling legal environment, the promotion of skills and entrepreneurship, and the creation of measures designed to eliminate discrimination against this group of workers.

With approximately 32 million disabled workers, China has the largest community of disabled women and men in the world. They still face enormous barriers in access to employment and vocational training, with disabled women and youth facing even greater barriers than their male counterparts. This is due to a lack of capacity among dedicated institutions, and poor awareness of employability and right to employment amongst the media and people with disabilities.

The project aims to improve the situation of China’s disabled workers by improving the capacity of key institutions to address ableist discrimination, promote equality of opportunity in both training and employment, and improve the employability of people with intellectual disabilities through skill development programmes and on-job training. The project will also increase the capacity of the media to report on the rights and capacities of disabled workers, especially those with intellectual disabilities.

Main activities

In collaboration with various partners, the project will:
  • Increase the capacity of mainstream vocational education institutions, training institutions, and national statistics offices to provide accessible services for workers with both physical and intellectual disabilities.
  • Support the creation of platforms and resource centres (as well as a manual on the promotion of inclusive employment) in Chongqing, Dalian, and Shanghai that enable multinational companies and employers’ organizations to share their experiences on hiring and training disabled workers.
  • Support local disabled persons’ federations on job coach training, and support the passage of enabling legislation in seven provinces and cities.
  • Research the possibility of creating an Internship Bases System for Youth with Disabilities in China, and support researchers in identifying legal barriers to the employment, and make recommendations to remove these.
  • Translate the ILO publication JOB AND WORK ANALYSIS: Guidelines on Identifying Jobs for Persons with Disabilities, Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training: A Practical Guide and Supported Employment Handbook into Chinese for use in training.
  • Launch awareness campaigns on the rights and capacities of disabled workers.

Main outcomes

  • Relevant training made more accessible to people with disabilities;
  • Implementation of specific laws, policies, programmes or actions, leading to the improved The Handbook on Promoting Supported Employment in China;
  • Production of a Chinese guidance manual for employers on how to promote inclusive employment for men and women with disabilities, the Chinese version of JOB AND WORK ANALYSIS: Guidelines on Identifying Jobs for Persons with Disabilities, and the Chinese version of Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Vocational Training: A Practical Guide and Supported Employment Handbook;
  • Publication of research on the participation of disabled workers and intellectually disabled workers in mainstream vocational education and training;
  • Awareness (through the Beijing Union University Special Education College) in key decision makers in government, social partners, project partners, family groups, and the media, thus promoting the inclusion of disabled workers; and
  • Increase the capacity of key stakeholders through Disability Equality Training (DET).
For further information please contact:

Mr. Zhou Haibin
National Programme Coordinator
ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia