Fundación ONCE creates opportunities for an inclusive labor market

Mr. Hernández-Galán, what is the current situation like for people with disabilities in Spain concerning the labor market?

Jesús Hernández-Galán: Spain ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. Also, in Fundación ONCE we have been working hard to implement accessibility criteria in different areas of life and society. However, it does not mean our work is finished. In fact, it is far from finished. We still have a lot of work to do, particularly in regards of employment and awareness. People with an officially recognized disability represent around 6 percent of the working-age population in Spain. However, the unemployment rate among this group is around 30 percent, almost 10 points above the unemployment rate of people without disabilities, and that is bad news. It is quite serious, and it means we still have a lot of work to do, particularly in terms of awareness.

Can you please tell me a little bit about the job training programs you carry out?

Jesús Hernández-Galán: Fundación ONCE’s main mission is to improve the lives of people with disabilities by promoting universal accessibility and employment opportunities. I think we all agree that employment is a central pillar of social inclusion for everyone, but particularly for those with a disability.

We have several employment programs which are co-financed by the European Social Fund. Currently we manage a job bank with job openings from different sectors. More than 250.000 jobseekers with disabilities have signed up and 26.500 have been interviewed. I’d like to point out that we also promote entrepreneurship among persons with disabilities. We offer support to those who want to start their own business.

In addition, we provide training to help jobseekers develop the necessary working skills. So far, we have trained a total 122.000 of jobseekers which includes women in risk of exclusion or who have been victims of gender violence.

These efforts have allowed us to generate a total of 107.371 job positions during the past years.

Why do you think is inclusion in the labor market so important for people with disabilities?

Jesús Hernández-Galán: 80 percent of the population with disabilities, worldwide, lives below the poverty line. This is a tragedy that happens even in the rich countries. The best way to tackle it is by providing job opportunities. We all have the right to live with dignity, to be able to provide for ourselves and our families. Why do we have to live off state pensions or charities or worse, beg on the streets when we can have a job where we can grow professionally and be independent? Society must cease seeing us as useless individuals, as objects of pity because the truth is we are just like everybody else. We have professional capacities and we can work as well as people with no disabilities do. It is all matter of having the opportunity to do so.

What do you think about events like the M-Enabling Forum and REHACARE as a possibility to connect with other people who support a self-determined living and inclusion of people with disabilities?

Jesús Hernández-Galán: I believe that events like M-Enabling and REHACARE are necessary to make a step forward in making society inclusive. They not only offer an opportunity to connect with other people, but also to spread knowledge on the available technologies and solutions that help improve accessibility and the life of all people. This information is hard to get. In fact, most people aren’t aware of what solutions are out there or how technology can help overcome most of the barriers they face in their everyday lives.