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Disability Wales

We all know that there are some very real barriers for disabled workers in Wales and sometimes it may seem that these obstacles are impossible to overcome. There is, however, support from organisations such as Disability Wales.

Now in its thirty-fifth year, Disability Wales is an independent non-profit organisation that represents every disability group in the country striving to achieve rights, equality and choice for all disabled people in Wales.

The difficulties facing disabled workers in Wales, especially young people, cannot be underestimated. The employment rate among disabled people is worryingly low.

In fact, only 40 per cent of disabled people of working age are currently in employment and getting work is more difficult for disabled than non-disabled jobseekers with one-third of all disabled people who find work finding themselves out of a job by the following year.

Indeed, there are over 400,000 people of working age in Wales who are registered as disabled.

The result is that disabled people find themselves at the back of the queue when it comes to getting a job.

And, when you factor that almost 16 per cent of the entire working population is disabled, the figures do not make good reading.

Thankfully, help is at hand with organisations like Disability Wales. They champion the rights and equal opportunities for all disabled people regardless of physical or sensory impairment, learning difficulty or mental health condition. In other words, their aim is to promote an understanding of the needs of disabled people and to breakdown some of the barriers and attitudes that exist.

For instance, over the last 15 years, Disability Wales has proactively worked to shrug-off the antiquated public perception that was often associated with organisations who tried to highlight the problems faced by disabled workers.

Gone are the days of collection tins and charity events which have been consigned to the dustbin. Instead, there is a new school of thought that focuses on conveying an understanding of how disabled people can and do participate equally in the workforce.

Referred to as the Social Model, Disability Wales is campaigning to change the negative language used to describe the experience of disabled people with an emphasis on looking for solutions rather than stating the problems.

(Picture: photo of a man in a shirt and tie sat in a wheelchair with an open laptop)