The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) released today (5 June 2023) the findings of the Study on Effective Strategies to Facilitate School-to-work Transition of Young Persons with Disabilities in Hong Kong (the Study). The study aims to explore the experiences of young persons with disabilities (PWDs) as they transition from secondary/post-secondary education to work, identify mechanisms and make concrete policy recommendations on institutional support to facilitate their successful transition.

Dr Ferrick CHU Chung-man, Executive Director (Operations) of the EOC explained at the press conference, “In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of young PWDs pursuing post-secondary education. Yet it is uncertain whether the academic qualifications are useful for their career readiness. Also, not much attention is paid to the transitioning phase from secondary to post-secondary education, and to the labour market. It is therefore important to find out the factors that hinder or facilitate young PWDs’ transition, and identify strategies that can support them in achieving their educational and career goals.” 

Commissioned to the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong, the Study adopted a mixed method encompassing in-depth interviews with young PWDs, focus group interviews with other key stakeholders, namely parents/carers and teachers/instructors of young PWDs, social workers, counsellors and social service practitioners, as well as employers and employees, and surveys conducted among young PWDs and the aforementioned stakeholders. The Study examined the major pathways of transition: (a) from secondary education to post-secondary education; (b) from secondary education to work; and (c) from post-secondary education to work.  

Factors hindering young PWDs’ transition

Overall, the Study found that young PWDs, with or without post-secondary educational attainment, encountered significant obstacles in transitioning from school to work, indicating a chasm between school and work for them. Many young PWDs believed that they were unlikely to be considered as suitable candidates in the eyes of employers due to their disabilities. If they were hired, they would require more time to adapt to the work environment. 

The low self-confidence had a significant negative impact on the young PWDs, especially those with invisible disabilities, such as mental and emotional impairments and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. In fact, the Study found that “self-stigma” is a major factor hindering the transition of young PWDs. Other barriers or difficulties included: limitation due to impairments, limited job options, lack of barrier-free access facilities, and lack of acceptance of PWDs. 

As indicated in the survey with young PWDs, they faced disability discrimination both at schools and in the workplace, with students reporting that their teachers failed to understand their learning difficulties caused by their disabilities (36.4%), and that they had been teased or rejected by classmates because of their disabilities (36.1%). The situation was especially worse for young PWDs in post-secondary education settings, as 44.3% reported that their teachers failed to understand or had difficulty in understanding the learning difficulties caused by their disabilities, and 46.4% reported they were teased or rejected by classmates in school because of their disabilities.     

Some survey results reflect a better understanding has to be garnered from employers on the abilities of each and every employee with disability. For those who completed secondary education and in the labour market, 33.3% considered that their employers had misunderstood their disabilities and assigned tasks that were too simple for them, while 32.1% considered their employers had ignored their disabilities and assigned tasks that were too difficult for them. As for those who completed post-secondary education and in the labour market, 35.4% considered their employers had ignored their disabilities and assigned tasks that were too difficult for them. In addition, 31.9% considered their employers had misunderstood their disabilities and assigned tasks that were too simple for them.

The above survey findings were echoed by teachers/instructors, social workers/counsellors/social service practitioners, and parents/carers in the focus group interviews, who reported negative attitude of employers towards hiring PWDs. Nevertheless, most employers who took part in the survey expressed willingness to hire PWDs, especially PWDs with post-secondary qualifications. Some social workers interestingly emphasised that employers tended to be more willing to hire persons with visible disabilities rather than those with invisible ones, because hiring those with visible disabilities was conducive to showing socially responsible human resource practices. Also, 86.3% of employers considered that for the same job requirements, employees with disabilities should receive the same remuneration as do employees without disabilities. Among the employers, 85.1% were willing to hire persons with disabilities with post-secondary qualifications. 

Notwithstanding their willingness, more than half (55.3%) of the employers were concerned about the cost of barrier-free facilities/ accommodation. Likewise, more than half (52.2%) feared costs associated with additional training required for employees with disabilities and not being able to discipline employees with disabilities because of potential lawsuits. 

As for the employees, more than 80% of the employees expressed that they were willing to work with PWDs. Employees from large enterprises showed a higher level of willingness to work with PWDs than those from small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Factors facilitating young PWDs’ transition 

The Study also found out from young PWDs and key stakeholders the factors which can facilitate the former’s transition from secondary education to post-secondary education and from education to work. According to young PWDs, the use of assistive technologies in schools and flexible arrangements in learning and assessment could help them overcome their limitations and unleash their full potential. Also, the support from peers was considered important.

For young PWDs who transitioned from school to work, flexible work arrangements provided by employers were considered an important facilitating factor in their transition. Career support by social workers/counsellors/social service practitioners, internship opportunities liaised by universities, as well as support from parents, carers and peers were also considered important, while assistance offered by colleagues would enhance their adaptability in the workplace.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the Study, the research team proposed three policy directions: shifting from welfare- to rights-based approach, bridging gaps in cross-sector collaboration and enhancing multi-level interventions. Under these policy directions, there were eight relevant strategies to facilitate school-to-work transition of young PWDs, namely:   

• Enhancing public awareness of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO);
• Promoting the acceptance of diversity in community through public education;
• Strengthening support system in mainstream secondary schools;
• Promoting more diversified school-to-work transition pathways for young PWDs;
• Engaging the business sector in workplace inclusion;
• Strengthening support for post-secondary students with disabilities;
• Enhancing support for persons with invisible disabilities; and
• Engaging parents/carers in devising young PWDs’ school-to-work transition strategies.

Dr Ferrick Chu said, “It is obvious from the Study findings that social labelling, discrimination, and lack of understanding of PWDs still exist in our society, which undermine the self-confidence of young PWDs and reinforce negative perception of their disability identity. Our society must recognise that gainful employment is not welfare but an equal right of everyone. We all have a role to play in building an enabling environment for PWDs both at schools and in the workplace.”

To uphold the equal opportunities of PWDs in education and employment, it is recommended that young PWDs should be informed of their legal rights clearly in the early stages of the school-to-work transition, thus removing a knowledge gap barrier to effective awareness of the legal protection under the DDO. It is also recommended that the Government should introduce a positive duty under the DDO for the provision of reasonable accommodation for PWDs. This was one of the law reform recommendations put forward by the EOC in 2016 under the Discrimination Law Review. 

Aside from legal protection, the Study also highlights the importance of cross-sector collaboration on strengthening the support for students, including employment support, life planning education and career guidance. In light of the concerns of employers about the cost of providing accommodation and barrier-free facilities, greater intervention efforts by different parties, such as mandatory disclosure of workplace inclusive efforts by listed companies, increment in the Government’s subsidy for employers’ procurement of assistive devices and workplace modification, and providing recurrent funding to universities for enhancing campus accessibility and creating an inclusive campus culture are recommended.  

Please refer to the following link for the details of the findings and recommendations of the Study: https://www.eoc.org.hk/en/policy-advocacy-and-research/research-reports/2023-2

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Equal Opportunities Commission
5 June 2023

(From left) Dr Ferrick CHU Chung-man, Executive Director (Operations) of the EOC; Dr Ricky KWAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong; Dr Anna HUI, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong; and Ms Doris TSUI Ue-ting, Acting Head (Policy, Research and Training) of the EOC presented the findings of the Study on Effective Strategies to Facilitate School-to-work Transition of Young Persons with Disabilities in Hong Kong at a press conference today (5 June 2023).