DIS-employability is a 24-month Strategic Partnership in the field of Youth Education involving several European entities working with disabled people. It aims at providing disabled people with useful employability skills through the development of critical thinking for promoting their inclusion in the labour market.
Critical thinking is considered an important methodology for the development of employability skills. People with a high level of critical thinking and reasoning are likely to be innovative, bringing new ideas and creative solutions to even the most difficult business challenges. “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” recognizes the right to work and employment as a fundamental right. The project will address and overcome systemic barriers to participation in education and the labour market that concern disabled people. According to Eurostat data, in 2010 in Europe, approximately 100 million EU citizens live with a disability. Their wellbeing is affected by various barriers, such as inaccessible physical environments and transportation, the unavailability of assistive devices and technologies, non- adapted means of communication, gaps in service delivery, and discriminatory prejudice and stigma in society. Furthermore, the Report on Disability and Work, elaborated by the International Labor Organization on 2019, showed that lower employment and education levels cause that the poverty rate for those with disabilities is 70% higher than the average, while the unemployment rate of around 4 million people in the European Union who have Intellectual and relational Disabilities is more than twice as high as for the general population. Based on this context, there is a clear need to target initiatives at these vulnerable people. Disabled people must overcome the barriers experienced as a result of the disability, and provide them with useful skills to tackle the challenges faced in the labour market because of their situation.