New trends in vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons.

This papers outlines new approaches and concepts aimed at creating employment opportunities for disabled persons in a difficult labour market situation. It relates the new trends to interest engendered by the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons and the recently proclaimed U.N. Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992) with greater participation and involvement of community groups, employers' and workers' organisations inrehabilitation activities. Much of the paper is devoted to changing patterns of sheltered employment including a centralised administration for groups of workshops, introduction of modern management techniques and development of profitable production or sub-contract work. The development of the enclave system of sheltered employment is highlighted whereby groups of severely disabled people work together under special supervision in an otherwise ordinary and undifferentiated working environment. Disable persons' co-operatives, a modular method of vocational training and the ergonomic approach to adaptation of jobs as means of creating jobs for the disabled are discussed in detail. The need to make good the acute lack of trained rehabilitation staff and to give higher priority to the employment needs of disabled people in rural areas, is stressed. Suggestions for research into ways and means of expanding employment opportunities for the disabled and for improving existing vocational rehabilitation services are outlined. Finally the paper refers to the newly adopted International Labour Office Convention and Recommendation Concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) which will, it is envisaged, inspire world-wide action in creating wider employment opportunities for disabled persons.