Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the workplace

• Main Author: Colendrino, Maria Corazon C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: People with disabilities—Employment—Philippines; People with disabilities—Education—Philippines; Discrimination against people with disabilities—Philippines; Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Inequality and Stratification; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/5444
• Institution: De La Salle University

Equity in the workplace is a pressing global issue. The majority of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (AIDDs) do not land a decent paying job despite certified training. Furthermore, while right movements fight for equal employment opportunities, a significant number of AIDDs are not exactly equipped with the skills and/or the emotional maturity needed for competitive employment. In response, a special school in the Philippines started training AIDDs in employable skills in culinary arts. Small, total hands-on classes used task analysis to teach highly technical skills in food preparation. Longitudinal ethnographic research documented some unexpected data: 1) five AIDDs mass produced good quality product for six hundred persons, 2) eight AIDDs standardized recipes and co-authored a monograph for inclusive education for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 3) the work of seven AIDDs were featured in local culinary magazine, and 4) five AIDDs were accepted for on-the-job training in food production. Despite getting good performance evaluation, only two of the latter were able to land a full time job and only one was able to sustain employment. Observation, informal interview, and document analysis looked deep into competitive employment issues. The use of still and motion photographs completed the triangulation process, painting a vivid picture of AIDDs who are highly trainable in culinary arts, families that are supportive of their training, and a society that gets awed but stops short of welcoming them in the workforce. With employment rate pegged at 7.2% and underemployment at 19.4%, social entrepreneurship is proposed. Implications for program modification, awareness campaign and further research are discussed.