Beschreibung

"Societal participation of persons with disabilities is one central concern of modern welfare states. The integration into the labor market is one important aspect. Vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities or (occupational) health limitations is a key societal instrument in order to achieve (sustainable) labor market reintegration. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how successful vocational rehabilitation is in terms of reintegration rates and sustainability of labor market reintegration. The following contribution presents the specifics of the German system of vocational rehabilitation and its particular relevance related to demographic changes in Germany. Furthermore, a study on return to work after vocational rehabilitation is presented. The results are based on a panel survey of vocational rehabilitants, who completed various labor market programmes at the German Federal Employment Agency in 2006. The survey was first carried out in 2007 and continued in two additional waves in 2008 and 2010. Event history analyses are applied to investigate (1) the reintegration into the labor market and (2) the sustainability of employment. Two thirds of the rehabilitants reintegrate quickly into the labor market. They are employed for almost three years on average. Younger age, mobility, access to occupational social networks and good subjective general health condition are positively associated with a faster labor market reintegration. On the other hand, individuals with a disability of the internal organs or psychological disabilities exit employment faster. These results show that reintegration into the labor market seems to be based on social selection processes and indicates exclusion mechanisms. Vocational rehabilitation is a key intervention in promoting and enhancing social and labor market participation. The findings of this study suggest that vocational rehabilitation seems to have an effect on labor market integration. However, the results also emphasize the heterogeneous nature of vocational rehabilitants and future investigations should attempt to systematically take this factor into account." (Author's abstract, © Springer ) ((en))