TECs and the Training of People with Disabilities: Threats and Opportunities

Considers the implications for the training of people with disabilities of the shift towards a new system for the delivery of publicly funded training schemes, based upon Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). People with disabilities face a number of barriers to labour market participation, which may be partly overcome through the provision of appropriate training. The TEC initiative, in principle, creates a framework within which such schemes can be tailored to meet local needs. However, the way that the TECs have been set up and funded in practice has a number of features which might militate against such developments: TEC strategies are dominated by employer interests, with relatively little involvement by voluntary organizations or representatives of people with disabilities; the output‐related funding system implies an incentive to downgrade provision for those who have a lower probability of obtaining jobs or qualifications as a result of training – the evidence suggests that people with disabilities generally fall into this group; the mechanisms by which the obligations of TECs towards people with disabilities are monitored are relatively weak. Concludes by suggesting that the chances of a person with a disability receiving appropriate training may in future depend upon the TEC area in which s/he lives. This scenario should be avoided at all costs.