Occupational Center Research Articles

Employability skills, quality of life, and body composition on employment modalities in individuals with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities.

Background: The inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities into the labour market is a challenge in advanced societies, with only a very reduced percentage of these individuals being able to access the free labour market. Whilst some progress has recently been made, there is still a need to further explore the different conditioning factors. Method: A total of 125 users belonging to the three employment modalities of Occupational Workshops (OW), Occupational Centers (OC) and Supported Employment (SE), participated in this study. Differences between modalities were determined for employability, quality of life, and body composition. Results: Employability skills were higher for SE compared to OW and OC; the index of quality of life was higher for OC and SE groups compared to OW; no differences were found in body composition between groups. Conclusions: The quality-of-life index was higher for participants performing remunerated employment modalities and employment skills increased when work was more inclusive.

Employability skills and quality of life among employees with mild and moderate intellectual disability who attend occupation centres in catalonia (Spain)

Background: The study explores the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and employability skills in a non-random sample of 100 employees of occupational centres (OCs) in Barcelona (Spain). The influence of gender, age and level of intellectual disability (ID) is also explored. Method: A quantitative approach was adopted to collect and examine data, gathered through two different instruments: the GENCAT SCALE (Verdugo et al., 2008) (and the Employability Skills Scale (Jariot, Laborda and González, 2020). Results: A correlation between QoL and employability skills has been found. A relationship between age and employability skills was also found, in which younger individuals reported better in employability skills. Age was also found to have an effect on some QoL domains. The ID level turned out to be a significant factor in the development of employability skills, as well as in some QoL domains. The crucial role of job placement in personal development is underlined, as well as the need for more inclusive procedures in occupancy services.

THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES UN: ANALYSIS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION IN ANDALUCÍA (SPAIN) OF ARTICLE 33

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a major human rights instrument of the United Nations with the goal of ensuring protection of rights of persons with disabilities. In Article 33, ‘National implementation and monitoring’ establishes, among other things, that States Parties shall implement the Convention and establish or designate a coordination mechanism at government level. This article aims to show the results of implementing Article 33 in Andalucía (Spain) in the context of the European project ‘Planning Inclusive Communities’ led by the University of Siegen (Germany). The methodology used in this study was based on a comparative analysis of data obtained through a series of surveys addressed to local governments in different European regions. This article shows the results obtained in Andalucía region where the Convention is disseminated in various formats, at local levels it shows a low presence, because rati cation have neither led to a legal obligation at lower state levels. Local managers showed disregard for the principles of the Convention and its practical application. This lack of information at local level in uences the methods that Spanish occupational therapists (OT) use with persons with disabilities in occupational centers (OC).