Introduction
The problem of people with disabilities fitting into society and having an opportunity to lead an everyday life is urgent worldwide. Most of the time, things that regular people take for granted and consider a bare minimum for persons with disabilities can be unattainable. Many struggles to integrate and get a proper education, find a job, or have financial stability. In this paper, this issue will be analyzed within the situation in the UAE. There will be an overview of the leading country’s problems, governments’ actions towards improving the situation and an evaluation of its effectiveness.
Background of the Policy Issues
The United Arab Emirates might have its problems, and helping the minority population access opportunities for everyday life is one of them. Although there are no data on the unemployment rate among people with disabilities (PWD), the country has had high unemployment among the whole population for many years. According to Camulli and Xie (2019), “as of 2016, 15,782 people registered on disability cards in the UAE, of whom 62% are UAE nationals, numbering 9869. Various foreign expatriates represent the remaining 5913” (p. 57). Therefore, it is possible to assume that the minority of the local citizens, particularly PWD, has been impacted like everyone else.
There can be multiple cases that have not been documented. The characteristic cause is that “the UAE national figure is likely much higher as the rate of congenital disability rates are known to be higher in Arab countries where consanguineous marriages are among the highest in the world,” as Camulli and Xie (2019) state (p. 57). Though it is only a small number of population initiatives, some people still need help and support from the government. It ensures that PWD has everything to satisfy their basic social needs.
The government has some regulations on regulations and in 2009 enacted the first law that officially confirmed the existence of their struggles. Furthermore, the UAE implemented the law to provide people with disabilities with equal opportunities for work and education. In 2018 the government spent Dh19.2 billion on financial support for vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities (Besa, 2019). Of the OECD countries, Denmark has allocated the most budget among the rest on the issue in 2017, which is 4,9% of the GDP (OECD, 2021). Comparing the UAE to that statistics, it can be said that the government was taking significant measures to deal with the problem. Therefore, there is progress in the improvement of life of those who are in need.
Main Policy Issues
Two main issues that people with disabilities face are difficulties getting a higher education and tiny opportunities to get a job and build a professional career. One of the obstacles in the way of improving the situation is a social construct. The majority of the population might still consider people with disabilities as different and separate them instead of including them in the group. The same situation happens with access to education, and children struggle to go to school with others. Camulli and Xie (2019) claim that “historically, the people of the region have not had a very open and accepting attitude towards those with special needs and disabilities” (p. 57). Thereby, children with disabilities can access only special institutions for those who struggle with particular health problems.
Consequently, as PWD are facing difficulties with education, the same situation is with the professional field. Government should provide them with the possibility to evolve their academic and professional skills alongside social ones. People with disabilities may feel more confident and robust being in people’s surroundings and knowing that maybe they differ, but they are still people with the same rights and aspirations. Camulli and Xie (2019) state that “for those who require special training, however, these policies ensure their right to training programs that align to requirements of the labor market as well as to an employment environment that is inclusive, accessible, and prepared” (p. 59). Thereby, two main issues that The United Arabian Emirates have connected with the opportunities for people with disabilities are access to proper education and job.
Benchmark with UK Programs
The UK has developed several programs to help people with disabilities and seems to implement them successfully. The Remploy program is the central organization where people with disabilities can come and search for a job. The organization was created after the second world war, and it aimed to help the soldiers that were injured during the war. There was a considerable amount of traumatized and wounded veterans all over the UK (Robertson, 2018). As time goes by, the organization starts to change the vector of development. According to Robertson (2018), “Remploy began to diversify by providing a specialist employment support agency for job seekers with disabilities and health conditions” (p. 3). Therefore, people in need gained the possibility to improve their lives and have equal opportunities as everyone else.
Another example is one of the most outstanding achievements is the partnership with Maximus, which became a massive tool to help disabled people socialize and adapt to the new workplace and feel included in the community. Another action that the government took forward for people with disabilities is The Work Choices program. This program ensures that those who participate in other employment programs employment due to physical or psychological limitations.
Thereby, the UK Government’s Department of Work and Pensions arranged a five-year contract on special conditions so those people could also have the ability to work. In addition, there is a module “Work Entry Support,” and which include every kind of participant despite their health condition (Robertson, 2018). The participants are provided with support and guidelines on preparing for work, searching for a suitable job, and passing the interview successfully. The UK’s program seems more considered and detailed than the UAE’s measures. The UK government created an opportunity and navigated people through the process.
Recommendations on the Improvement
The UAE government can make some improvements in the system to make getting a job for PWD easier. They can cooperate with popular and massive brands and retailers such as supermarkets and arrange for people with disabilities to guarantee a job. Moreover, they could organize psychological programs to help those people get support and gain confidence and social and communication skills for successful performance in the workplace. Another solution would be creating a self-employment center for people with disabilities where they could leave their resumes. In cooperation with other organizations and companies, the center could find a suitable job matching the criteria.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the UAE government has achieved visible progress in providing people with disabilities with personal and professional self-development opportunities. People can live relying on pensions and government payments, but they can also have an additional income and integrate into society. Since the country still has problems with proper education and a low possibility of getting employed, the government could use some strategies that the UK’s government does. For example, be more attentive to the people themselves and provide them with a personal approach, and subsequently, the situation for people with disabilities will be improved.
References
Besa, V. (2019). UAE governments spend almost Dh20 billion on people in need. The National.
Camulli, J. E., & Xie, G. (2019). The employment continuum: A framework for hiring people with disabilities in Dubai, UAE. Asian Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 2(3), 56-75.
OECD (2021), Public spending on incapacity (indicator). doi:10.1787/f35b71ed-en
Robertson, P. J. (2018). Building capabilities in disabled job seekers: A qualitative study of the Remploy Work Choices program in Scotland. Social Work & Society, 16(1).