In March, the European Commission proposed a law to improve the quality of traineeships. The proposed Directive raises hope for many young people in Europe, who have experienced how traineeship programs can take advantage of young people just arriving into the labour market. Young people with disabilities are at particular risk due to their low employment rate: only 47.4% (of the total population with disabilities in Europe, only 51.3% of persons with disabilities are employed, compared to 75.6% of persons without disabilities). For young women with disabilities and for young people with high support, access to employment proves even more difficult.
Traineeships presents particular barriers
Young people with disabilities face several barriers when it comes to traineeships.
Some included general barriers persons with disabilities face when entering the labour market:
- Discrimination and misconceptions about a person’s ability to perform in a given role.
- A mismatch between skills gained during education and those required by the current labour market.
- The issues around loss of disability allowance when a person with disabilities starts working.
Other barriers are more specific to traineeships:
Age limits
It is common for traineeship programmes to have an age limit for applicants or to see younger candidates as more promising. For many young people with disabilities, this poses a problem as they face delays in completing their education and making the transition to the job market. Most commonly it is because of lack of availability and accessibility of necessary learning resources, making the process more difficult to navigate. In other cases, some conditions require taking time off, missing classes or exams, and recuperating later.
More difficult access to reasonable accommodation
Reasonable accommodation means adaptations made to a job role, working conditions or the work environment to enable someone to do their job with fewer obstacles.
Its implementation is always tricky but proves especially difficult for trainees because of the short duration of such placements. Consequently, the State’s reimbursement for costs or assistive technologies is rare, and employers are unlikely to fund adaptations themselves. Trainees with disabilities often have to provide their own equipment, work around inaccessible structures, or miss out on opportunities.
How can the Directive help?
The new Directive clarifies that persons with disabilities must be afforded the same traineeship opportunities as anyone else. The Directive should, therefore, ensure that EU countries remove the obstacles mentioned above.
However, the Directive is still under negotiation by EU Institutions. We call on them to guarantee two priorities:
- Persons with disabilities must not be penalised by loss of disability allowance or entitlement to other services, when under a traineeship contract.
- Guarantee that traineeship contracts in the EU will not reduce a person’s disability allowance or affect their access to services.
We also expect that the Directive obliges Member States to provide financial subsidies dor employers to cover costs linked to reasonable accommodation during traineeships. This will align with standard employment contracts and will enhance participation in traineeship programmes.
The journey of trainees with disabilities starting their careers
“Two summers ago, I interned with Trinity College Dublin’s Disability Service, focusing on their Neurodivergent Project. I honed a lot of important skills as part of this internship, including conducting interviews, constructing workshops, people skills and research. The experience was positive due to the Service’s strong emphasis on accessibility, fostering a welcoming atmosphere. Although there were occasional disagreements, we held weekly meetings to address issues and understand different perspectives. I feel the Disability Service in Trinity College Dublin have really set a precedent for hosting an internship that is both welcoming and accessible, and even with this, they are a group that are always looking to better themselves and garner a better perspective on accessibility.”
Ben Rowsome, EDF Youth Committee member and Autism Europe Representative, on the importance of accessible traineeships
More information
Haydn Hammersley, EDF Social Policy Coordinator
Loredana Dicsi, EDF Membership, Internal Communication and Youth Coordinator