Vocational education and training and transitions into the labour market of persons with intellectual disabilities

The aim of this contribution is to shed light on the following questions: to what extent are labour market policy measures accessible for women and men with ID (intellectual disabilities)? What is the reality of transition to employment for this target group? What is the success rate of women and men with ID accessing labour market policy measures and the employment market per se? A presentation of selected empirical results (N = 625) of a nationwide survey conducted with the organisations that implement labour market policy measures in Austria illustrates the accessibility and success rate of these measures for women and men with ID. The results of the analysis reveal that a significant percentage of the people with ID who completed a labour market policy measure were able to obtain employment on the regular labour market, with work assistance in particular appearing to be a promising measure for obtaining employment. However, the relatively high success rate of vocational integration on the labour market does not belie the fact that a considerable number of people with ID are still not able to access vocational education and training measures; this is particularly true for those with ID who attended special schools and in general is true for women more than for men. Not being able to access vocational education and training measures leads to discrimination of the target group in regard to education and employment. The results suggest that inclusive schooling facilitates the accessibility and success rate of vocational education and training measures for men and women with ID.