Futuremakers Case Study November 2022 Employment opportunities for people with disabilities are limited by stigma, discrimination, and physical workplace barriers. <big>Futuremakers project spotlight</big> <big><big>A more inclusive labour market for young people with disabilities </big></big> <big>The background</big> Slim prospects for young people with disabilitiesEmployment opportunities for people with disabilities are limited by stigma, discrimination, and physical workplace barriers. The consequence is a persistent employment gap between people with disabilities and people without. So, while most of the 1.3 billion people with disabilities1 around the world are of working age, only 30 per cent participate in the labour force.2Exclusion can bring economic, physical, and emotional hardship to individuals and their families. Moreover, it diminishes prospects for economic growth: the cost of excluding people with disabilities represents up to 7 per cent of GDP in some countries.Young people with disabilities are even more likely to struggle, as the barriers to a first decent job are typically the highest. These barriers stem from three sources: 1The World Economic Forum, Closing the disability inclusion gap with business leadership2International Labour Organisation, New ILO database highlights labour market challenges of persons with disabilities <big>A shared hope for change </big> What is Futuremakers?Tackling exclusion among young people: More than 200 million young people around the world are either unemployed or have a job but live in poverty.3 Women, girls, and people with disabilities are on average more likely to be excluded. Barriers to young people’s economic participation tend to be higher in emerging markets.4 As outlined in our Futuremakers’ theory of change, the barriers to economic inclusion that young people face can’t be removed overnight. As with any such barriers, eliminating those facing people with disabilities requires long-term structural change. International charity Sightsavers shares in this belief. Its vision is that people with disabilities participate equally in society.Photo Credit: SightsaversIntroducing Futuremakers: This initiative is our global response to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion among young people. Futuremakers helps excluded young people learn new skills and prepare for the future of work. Together with NGOs and other organisations, we implement education, employability and entrepreneurship projects in 43 markets across our footprint. Since Futuremakers began in early 2019, we’ve helped more than 849,000 young people to learn, earn, and grow. From 2019 to mid-2022, 39 Futuremakers’ projects have engaged young people with disabilities – with a reach of 14,601 individuals.Photo Credit: SightsaversFocusing on Africa and Asia, Sightsavers aims to address avoidable blindness and visual impairment, eliminate neglected diseases, and promote disability rights. Sightsavers and its partners implement Futuremakers’ projects in several markets that look at how labour market systems can adapt to be more inclusive of people with disabilities in formal employment.3International Labour Organization, InfoStories: Employment – What stands between youth and decent jobs?4The World Economic Forum (WEF), How the young in developing countries are excluded from work <big>How we’re helping</big> Fostering inclusion from multiple directionsWhile the employment gap between people with disabilities and without is a global issue, the scale in emerging markets is not fully known, largely due to a lack of reliable data. To better understand this scale – and to ensure the most appropriate response – Sightsavers conducts thorough research before launching a project in a new market. It then produces a unique Labour Market Assessment (LMA), which looks at how a market functions relative to disability. The other defining feature of these projects is a multi-pronged approach. Projects always include parallel activities that target the three causes of exclusion. <big> On the road to inclusion</big> The foundations of participationFuturemakers' projects implemented by Sightsavers have so far been introduced in Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh. We are only at the early stages of project implementation in these markets, yet we’re already inspired by stories of inclusion. We’re also encouraged by similar, impactful projects implemented by Sightsavers over the years, and aspire to extend their previous success stories, together.And at different stages of these project journeys, we can begin to see the seeds of change being sown. Photo Credit: SightsaversSTAGE ONE: Labour Market Assessment (LMA)As with most emerging markets, Pakistan lacks reliable data around employment of people with disabilities. The Futuremakers Pakistan pre-project LMA showed that: Government policies to increase employment among people with disabilities exist, but are not thoroughly implemented. Employers need help building disability confidence to increase recruitment of people with disabilities. Collaboration is needed between employer organisations and recruitment agencies. Existing vocational training institutes should be restructured to be inclusive of people with disabilities. IT skills training can boost engagement of people with disabilities in the rapidly expanding IT sector. These insights enabled Sightsavers and its implementing partners to structure activities that target the unique needs of job seekers, employers, and supporting networks. The insights also enable a focus on participants where the greatest impact can be made – work that is now underway. STAGE TWO: Project implementation A. Job seekersA similar recent project run by Sightsavers (prior to its collaboration with Futuremakers) proved that transition to formal employment can be realised for people with disabilities. This project in Bangladesh focused on equipping young people with the skills and confidence to compete for jobs in the labour market. The impact was a transition rate of 36 per cent over three years, accelerating further as the economy recovered from COVID-19-related employment impacts. Photo Credit: SightsaversB. EmployersKenya’s constitution requires employers to move towards a minimum proportion (5 per cent) of employees to be persons with disabilities. And while many employers want to be inclusive, they lack the disability confidence. To help them develop this confidence, Futuremakers supports companies of varying size with training and accompaniment. On the larger end of the scale, Sightsavers supports companies in Kenya like Safaricom, Diageo and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.Beyond helping these companies meet the constitutional requirement, this work builds peer awareness among corporates in Kenya on the value of hiring people with disabilities. This in turn contributes to the greatly needed longer-term structural change. STAGE TWO: Project implementation C. Supporting networksA Business and Disability Network is now being established in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), Employers Federation of Pakistan, and Standard Chartered Pakistan. One early example of the power of these networks is an introduction between Sightsavers, Futuremakers and the government’s Youth Development Programme (supported by the ILO). Collaboration talks are underway that could see more jobs created for young people with disabilities in Pakistan. Photo Credit: SightsaversSTAGE THREE: Expansion Our collaboration with Sightsavers has only just begun; we’re planning to grow together with more similar projects through Futuremakers. For the next stage, plans are underway for a geographical expansion in Asia; a new project in Bangladesh was launched by Sightsavers in October 2022. Two further projects have also commenced in Indonesia and Nepal, in partnership with CBM. Photo Credit: Sightsavers <big>Success stories</big> Case study: Job seekerIsmail has lived with cerebral palsy since childhood. After graduating with a degree in business administration, he struggled to find a job and became depressed. He had the skills to pass screenings, but low self-esteem because of his impairment meant he lacked confidence at interview stage. Through career-planning via this Futuremakers' project, Ismail learnt interviewing and networking techniques. He applied these in his next interview and subsequently landed the job. Ismail continues to dream higher: he plans to take professional exams and one day become a civil service officer. “The moment that made my career and life, was when I received the job confirmation call from the employer.”Read Ismail's story here. Case study: EmployerSafaricom is the largest telecommunications provider in East Africa, and one of the leading employers of people with disabilities. Before working with Sightsavers, Safaricom had already started on its journey towards the constitutional requirement (a minimum of 5 per cent of employees with disabilities), but needed help to reach the target. As part of Futuremakers, Safaricom partnered with an initiative called ‘The IT Bridge Academy’ which provides young people with disabilities in Kenya with a strong career foundation in IT. Safaricom offers six-month paid internships to select graduates, bringing the company access to a new pool of talent – while also supporting their inclusion ambitions. Safaricom has not only strengthened its infrastructure to support employees with different impairments, but also received training for staff on how to relate to people with disabilities in the workplace. “This is how you build great organisations by bringing in talent, different competencies, different perspectives, and this in turn, drives your innovation.”Tabie Kioko, Senior Manager, Safaricom, Kenya <big>The way forward</big> Inspiring confidence for future generationsVia partnerships like this with Sightsavers, we can support young people with disabilities to secure decent employment, lift their participation and transform their futures. But we can also influence structural change that reduces the likelihood of such exclusion among future generations.
