A woman with a 50% disability has been accepted into a university course that can enable her to have a self-determined professional life in the long term
Vienna (OTS) – Despite her 50 percent disability, Anna-Sophie P. completed compulsory school and a partial apprenticeship in trade. She was told that anything else would be out of the question for her anyway. Because a job in retail wasn’t suitable for her, the now 23-year-old wanted to retrain. She applied to the Salzburg University of Education. She was only one of two people accepted into the BLuE university course every year. She applied to the AMS Salzburg to cover the course costs and “cover living expenses”. Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz: “Absurdly, the AMS refuses to support this training, even though it recommends the same training on its own website.” “I want to have a job where I enjoy going and lead a self-determined life,” says Anna- Sophie P. in the ORF program “Citizens’ Lawyer” on March 16th.
The inclusive university program BLuE is aimed at students with disabilities and prepares them for an assistant career. However, the AMS Salzburg rejected funding “because it does not involve vocational training with a recognized qualification. Due to the shortage of skilled workers and since we are the experts for the labor market, we do not see any increased placement opportunities (…), which is why we are refraining from funding.”
Long-term career prospects instead of quick placement in unskilled jobs!
Instead, the AMS wanted to send Anna-Sophie P. to the “women-differently-competent” program. Ombudsman Achitz: “This program is aimed at women who have been ill for a long time, have been unemployed or are older. So it’s probably not suitable for a woman in her early 20s.” He criticizes the fact that the AMS apparently only has a quick placement in mind instead of enabling Ms. P. to receive training that would give her the chance to work permanently in the primary labor market : “If you place people with disabilities in unskilled work, in many cases they end up back at the AMS after six months… and in the long term they often end up in a ‘workshop’ where they only receive pocket money instead of wages.”
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides for effective access to the labor market
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also provides for the equal right to work and requires effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programs, vocational training and further education. The Ombudsman has been criticizing for years that people with disabilities are often classified as unfit for work, which means they are excluded from AMS funding and placement. At least for people up to the age of 25, Parliament has now changed that. Ombudsman Achitz: “The AMS has to rethink things. In the case of Ms. P., I urgently demand that the AMS promote training. This is also associated with financial security for Ms. P. – and with better social security protection.”
Ombudsman special report “Wages instead of pocket money”: https://bit.ly/2JFGU2U
Special report in Easy Read: https://bit.ly/3ogvNMA
SERVICE: The Ombudsman can be reached at post@volksanwaltschaft.gv.at and on the free service number 0800 223 223.
Questions & Contact:
Florian Kräftner Media spokesman in the office of Ombudsman Mag. Bernhard Achitz +43 664 301 60 96 florian.kraeftner@volksanwaltschaft.gv.at volksanwaltschaft.at
