New plans to boost employment for people with disabilities

Plans to boost participation in the labour market of people with disabilities were announced by President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday, who stressed the government aims for the them to “work, create, contribute, be recognised for their many abilities, and have equal opportunities”. According to the new policies, a personalised plan will be curated for each graduate of special education before they leave the system at the age of 22, while the government has also promised two new “employment programmes” which will be implemented before the end of the year. These plans will be complemented by an increase in the subsidies offered to “social enterprises” from €10,000 to €25,000 when they hire people for “special purposes” – a term which typically denotes temporary hires. The government said that this subsidy will be offered until 2030, while investments in social enterprises will not be taxed up to a value of €150,000. At present, it said, around 460 people partake in employment programmes with government support. In addition, the government said that post-secondary education programmes will be offered to people with special needs aged over 22, while personal professional helpers and vocational teachers will also be provided. As such, school leavers with disabilities who wish to stay in education past the age of 22 years old will be offered a place in a new “inclusion and professional empowerment” programme at post-secondary vocational education and training institutes across the island. Those who complete the course will be given diplomas. The government also promised that day centres will be opened in the near future, subsidised by €4m worth of government funding. Additionally, the centres will offer 30 education programmes for adults with disabilities, while the government will offer €300 worth of grants to each day centre attendee for transport to and from the centre. The government also announced that three new autism centres in Nicosia and Ayia Napa will be opened. Christodoulides stressed that there are “some political decisions which are not judged only by the amount of funds or by the number of actions they include”, but instead that they are “judged by the degree to which they change the lives of our fellow human beings”. “In essence, today, we are presenting a new, different approach to how the state truly stands by young people with disabilities who leave school and will transition into adulthood – a new approach which proves in practice that as a government we stand by the parents and families of young people with disabilities who are justifiably anxious about their future,” he said. President Nikos Christodoulides presenting the new plans on Tuesday He added that the state of affairs his government inherited contained “a critical gap which justifiably created uncertainty”, meaning the “interconnection between education, training, employment and care was limited”. As a result, he said, “a significant number of our school leavers with disabilities, after leaving special education, were neither included in higher education programmes, nor in work, nor in day centres”. “Therefore, a significant number of our children remained outside active social and economic participation, with all that implied for the children and their families”. He said that “this gap was first conveyed to us by those who were experiencing it”, before saying that one of the first actions the government took in this regard was to raise the leaving age for special needs schools from 21 to 22 years old. “At the same time, we began the preparatory work to find a permanent solution, as this is an obligation. We worked methodically and in a coordinated manner, and today, we can present a comprehensive and long-term policy which includes options for every school leaver with disabilities,” he said. He went on to say that another very important element is that with the new policy, the state operates as a whole. “Five ministries, together with the deputy minister to the president and the social welfare deputy minister, who coordinated this entire effort, collaborated systematically with a common goal and a common plan,” he said. He then addressed people with disabilities directly, declaring that “today is primarily your day”, and that “as a government, we are sending a clear message in practice”. “We see you, we hear you, we count on you, we value you, and we are here to do whatever is necessary so that you can actively participate in the economic, educational and social life of the country – in every aspect of everyday life,” he said. He added that “we believe in your potential”, and that “those who have the opportunity to see this potential will be amazed by the results”, before adding that as a result of the government’s new plans, “we believe that you now have the right to plan your life like any other child in this country”. “This is the true meaning of inclusion. Society becomes better when no one, absolutely no one, is left behind – when everyone has choices and the same opportunities,” he said.