Resources on disability and work

  1. © ILO 2024
    Work gives me my independence

    13 November 2023

    Rafael Martirosyan has Down syndrome. He says his volunteer work and job at his family’s bakery business in Armenia give his life meaning. Rafael’s dream is to open a café that welcomes people with disabilities.

  2. Breaking barriers: Letting people with disabilities into the labour market (Short version)

    27 November 2012

    Lingering stereotypes and perceptions often means people with disabilities have little chance of finding a job, no matter what their skills may be. But there is a new ILO Finnish-funded project in Armenia called “From Crisis towards Decent and Safe Jobs” that is breaking down the barriers keeping people with disabilities out of the workforce.

  3. Breaking barriers: Letting people with disabilities into the labour market (full version)

    28 September 2012

    After the break up of the Soviet Union, life for many people in Armenia changed radically and new opportunities opened up for many. But for people with disabilities, it was not the case. During the Soviet period, they found work inside a closed system of “social enterprises.” Now they are truly “invisible” in the workforce. The ILO’s pilot project in Armenia is breaking down old stereotypes about disability as well as the barriers that keep them from work.