Inclusive labor market in Kazakhstan: barriers and measures to support the employment of people with disabilities

In the presented scientific article the authors defined inclusive employment, showed the experience of foreign countries, using Sweden as an example. The statistical data on the number of working persons with disabilities in the Republic of Kazakhstan, including in the public service and financial organisations of the country was collected. Statistical data are given in the context of gender, age, disability group. A review of literature on the problem of employment of persons with disabilities was conducted. The authors of the publication analyzed the implementation of employment programs in the labor market of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including such programs as ‘Public Works’, ‘Silver Age’, ‘Social Jobs’, ‘Youth Practice’, and provided statistics on the number of persons with disabilities employed in Astana on temporary jobs. The article shows the directions of implementation of mechanisms of state support for persons with disabilities, including ‘quota of jobs for persons with disabilities’, ‘subsidising the costs of employers’, as well as the ‘national project for the development of entrepreneurship’. The researchers conducted an expert interview with the director of the Centre for Labour Mobility in Astana, which revealed the real reasons for the low percentage of employment of persons with disabilities, identified employers’ requests for applicants from social categories, as well as the peculiarities of labour supply by persons with disabilities. The authors of the scientific publication offer recommendations to stimulate employers hiring representatives of socially vulnerable categories, including the provision of tax benefits and subsidies to such organisations. According to the authors, an important aspect is the adaptation of workplaces to the needs of different groups of workers, including the provision of physical accessibility of workspaces, flexible working conditions, including remote work, flexible schedules, which together can increase inclusion in the labour market in the Republic of Kazakhstan.