20,000 jobs for impaired persons
In 2015, 20,000 people with impairments were integrated into the labor market in Switzerland.
According to the Swiss Employers' Association, jobs were created for 20,119 impaired persons in 2015. This means that the 20,000 mark was broken for the first time. Overall, around 75,000 people with health problems have been able to keep their jobs or find new employment since 2012.
The steady improvements in the integration figures are also due in particular to the commitment of employers. "More and more employers are willing to offer those affected a perspective by returning them to work. Profit orientation and social commitment can be very well reconciled - many companies are proving this," says a pleased Jean-Philipp Ruegger, President of the Conference of IV Offices.
In addition to the effort of employers, networking among stakeholders is another success factor in the context of vocational integration. Compasso, an initiative led by the Swiss Employers' Association, makes an important contribution here. The privately funded platform links all key stakeholders in the field of vocational (re)integration - employers, IV, Suva, private insurers and disability organizations. They are all united by the goal of strengthening the labor market capabilities of people with disabilities - and thus both avoiding retirement and retaining skilled workers in the labor market.
In view of the positive development of the integration figures, the Conference of IV Offices warns against introducing statutory integration quotas. Hiring an employee because of his or her disability just to achieve a certain quota does not create a good basis for a fruitful and lasting employment relationship, according to the IV-Stellen-Konferenz. According to the employers' association, rigid legal regulations would also inhibit private commitment to integration: Success in occupational integration is primarily the result of flexible structures that meet needs, it said. When serious health problems arise, the right measures can be initiated quickly - in the interests of the people concerned, the social insurance funds and the employers.
However, the association for the disabled sees this differently AgileIt calls for an obligation on the part of employers to share the IV's commitment to occupational integration on a binding basis.
