Inclusion in Austria: Where are opportunities for people with disabilities?

Inclusion in Austria: Where are opportunities for people with disabilities?

In Austria, around 760,000 people with registered disabilities currently live, as reported by the Krone . These people typically receive care allowance or have a disability pass. It is alarming that only 15 percent of them are employed, while almost every second person in the total population pursues employment. It also shows that 70 percent of people with disabilities moved into a pension at the end of 2022, while four out of ten only have a compulsory school leaving certificate. This illustrates the disadvantage that this group experiences in the educational and labor market.

education and opportunities for opportunities

The picture is still gripping when you look at the educational paths. While almost every third person has a Matura or a higher degree in the total population, this value is only almost 13 percent for people with disabilities. After the compulsory or special school, 39 percent of these people no longer make a higher level of education, which leads to a massive underrepresentation on the training and labor market. In addition, many people with disabilities have had a school attendance in a special school. In some federal states, the numbers are alarming, for example in Salzburg and Vorarlberg, while in Carinthia the numbers are lower.

The collecting of the data is carried out within the framework of the legal requirements for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabilities, which aims to promote inclusion in education and labor market. Statistics Austria emphasizes that this information is an essential basis for evaluating political measures. It is a challenge to improve the participation and equal opportunities of this group, since previous statistics show serious differences in the educational and work opportunities.