Targeted Vocational Training for the Disabled: From Idea to Implementation Considering the Diversity of Disability Types and Its Challenges
Background: Vocational training is critical for employment of persons with disabilities, yet barriers persist.
Aim: This narrative review synthesizes literature on targeted vocational training considering disability diversity.
Method: A search of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar (2000–2024) was conducted using the keywords vocational training, disability, employment, and inclusivity. Inclusion criteria: English-language articles, reviews, case studies, and policy documents.
Results: Persons with disabilities receive food, clothing, school supplies, transportation, emotional support, information, and advocacy support from family, friends, and neighbours. They reciprocate by offering emotional support, helping with household tasks, and financial and material support. Improving community awareness, expanding social networks for persons with disabilities, and providing livelihood support for caregivers can strengthen natural support Effective programs address disability diversity through personalized assessments, hands-on learning, and strong stakeholder partnerships. The social and biopsychosocial models of disability are more effective than the medical model. Successful initiatives (e.g., Project SEARCH) show >70% employment outcomes. Major challenges include inconsistent funding, stigma, and lack of accessibility, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Conclusion: Targeted vocational training must be embedded within rights-based frameworks (CRPD, CBR guidelines) and include ongoing support. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2026 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Enoch Acheampong, Godfred Atta-Osei, Alberta Nadutey, Peter Bredu-Darkwa, Gloria Boateng, Challenges associated with Vocational Rehabilitation for Persons with Disability in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 2 (2021): Summer
- Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Beatrice Atim Alupo, Naomi Gyamfi, Lois Odame, Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Eric Lawer Torgbenu, Eric Badu, The Family and Disability in Ghana: Highlighting Gaps in Achieving Social Inclusion , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 4 (2017): Winter 2017
- Bharat Joshi, Bigi Thomas, Barriers Faced by Persons with Disabilities in Formal Employment in India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019
- Acheampong Enoch, Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Isaac Owusu, Joseph Bediako, Role of Caregivers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities and Support Systems Available to them in Ghana , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 4 (2017): Winter 2017
- Pocholo B Trinidad, Litty M Shibu, Napoleon R Caballero, Ebrahim Rajab, Management of Undergraduate Community-Based Rehabilitation Programmes in the Philippines: A Cross-Sectional Survey , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 1 (2020): Spring 2020
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, V Subramaniam, Emil Rajah, Paramaguru Gowritharan, Shamra Nizar, Shakeela Saleem, ‘Enabling Access’: A Pilot Study on Access and Use of Assistive Products in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019
- Sangita Devi, Soumya Goyal, Savita Ravindra, Evaluation of Environmental Barriers faced by Wheelchair Users in India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 3 (2013): Autumn
- Lamech Emoru, Enos Mirembe Masereka, Richard Kabanda, Lived Experiences of Women with Disabilities in Accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Lira District, Northern Uganda , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 2: (Summer) - 2022
- Atul Jaiswal, Shikha Gupta, Advocacy Campaign for the Rights of People with Disabilities: A Participatory Action Research within a Community-based Rehabilitation Project in Vangani, Maharashtra , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 4 (2016): Winter 2016
- Marlee Elizabeth Quinn, Cynthia L Hunter, Sumanta Ray, Mohammad Morshedul Quadir Rimon, Krishno Sen, Robert Cumming, The Double Burden: Barriers and Facilitators to Socioeconomic Inclusion for Women with Disability in Bangladesh , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 2 (2016): Summer 2016
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.