“We have applied for jobs at several companies but there was no response […] We are blind people who don't have access to skills training. We don't know how to join a BLK [public vocational training center],” said Ahmad, not his real name, during a youth forum held by JobStart Indonesia recently. 

Ahmad and four other blind youths from Makassar, South Sulawesi, are facing difficulties accessing skills training at a BLK. They are not sure a BLK provides training opportunities for people with disabilities either. BLKs have no training facilities for people with sight problems. In addition, the trainers are not well trained on how to handle people with disabilities. 

Law No. 8/2016 on people with disabilities stipulates that companies must set aside at least 1 percent of the work positions it makes available to people with disabilities. However, few have complied with the law, arguing that people with disabilities are not productive.

The manpower minister said 5,825 people with disabilities were currently employed in the public and private sectors, out of a total 16.5 million people with disabilities. 

Many companies are not even aware of the 2016 law on people with disabilities. There is a strong assumption, if not misconception, that people with disabilities are not competent for jobs that normally go to abled people.

In several observations of the companies that have implemented the law in Semarang, the capital of Central Java, and Sukabumi in West Java, people with hearing difficulties performed well. Companies do not allocate more funds to train them and to provide facilities. They just provide boards, on which supervisors write their instructions, so employees with disabilities can understand the regulations and standard operating procedures.

In addition, many companies are facing difficulties finding competent workers among people with disabilities to achieve the 1 percent threshold. Many employers believe that recruiting people with disabilities will add costs to their operations, not to mention extra spending on training and the provision of disabled-friendly facilities.

In reality, the additional expenditure of employing disabled workers is no more than 5 percent of operational costs. In many cases, companies only require ramps for wheelchairs to achieve a disabled-friendly working environment. 

It is common for families to hide their children with disabilities because they feel ashamed of them or they fear their children will become the subject of bullying or harassment. One family in our target group did not include their disabled son in their family card (KK) to protect him from potential abuse.

Such situations can certainly create an inferiority complex among youths with disabilities because they cannot socialize with potential friends and people in their community. In addition, they do not have a chance to explore their talents and potential. Even though they physically grow up, emotionally, they are not mature and not ready to be economically independent.

During the training of soft skills in Surakarta and Semarang, we tried to combine youths with disabilities and those without disabilities. In the beginning, the participants did not trust each other. However, through interactive learning games and group work, the youths with disabilities were able to overcome their barriers and find self-confidence. By facilitating group tasks (mixing both groups), they could build good communication, trust and be able to identify their talents and potential.

For example, when we tested their endurance capacity by having them sell bottles of water at a market, some youths with disabilities displayed confidence when offering their products and received an income.

After following vocational training in the two cities, several youths demonstrated their talents in fashion design, sewing and other skills. However, they need further training and coaching to master their skills.

In many regions, the social affairs agency has allocated a budget for social assistance programs for people with disabilities; therefore, they keep data on these people, at least partially. However, those people have to move away from their dependency on social assistance. They need the soft skills and vocational skills that the labor market demands.

A lack of data on the part of the Manpower Ministry has challenged the social affairs agencies to develop vocational training programs, build disabled-friendly training facilities and train the trainers. We, however, still found workshop rooms belonging to public vocational training centers that were located upstairs, and there were no elevators for people with disabilities, limiting their access to the facilities.

A comprehensive assessment is needed to develop a youth-friendly environment at public vocational training centers, including shared data between the Manpower Ministry and the Social Ministry.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2018) says the labor market inclusion of vulnerable communities and disadvantaged groups can be strengthened by providing preemployment skills and training, involving the target group in program design and delivery, and embedding these efforts in community-led development  

The e-learning program developed by the Manpower Ministry could become an alternative option for people with disabilities because they would not need to go to the training centers every day. However, fully online training is still not a policy option, and the ministry is still using blended lessons (combined e-learning and class training) because participants are required to build competencies through practical training.

The central and local governments could encourage companies to recruit people with disabilities by providing rewards. This reward can shape a good image and branding of the companies in the eyes of the public and customers. In addition, several international buyers require their local partners to follow general principles on gender, inclusiveness and sustainability.

Building the supply side through producing competent workers is mandatory because people with disabilities have equal rights to decent jobs. Reforming infrastructure and human resources at vocational training centers are similarly necessary to ensure a working environment that is disabled-friendly.

 ***

The writer is a consultant at JobStart Indonesia. The views expressed are personal.