Open Employment Challenges for Intellectually-disabled Youth in Hong Kong
Social inclusion is a UN target of a sustainable world; it states that everyone, irrespective of one’s characteristics, such as various forms of disability, should be included as a member of society. Participation in the labor market is an important means through which an adult takes part in society. Despite the Hong Kong government’s efforts in nurturing and educating the intellectually-disabled from an early age, and numerous studies that demonstrated the multiple benefits of open employment to the disabled, businesses, public spending, and social inclusion, the chance of open employment for the intellectually-disabled was still rather slim. This study is an attempt to discover the hindering factors behind open employment for the intellectually-disabled, highlighting potential policy and service gaps, and put forward recommendations to improve the situation. The study is supported by the Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU, and completed in 2018.