NZ Code of Practice 2021-22

Expectations:

• review of current activities – including how disabled learners are achieving
• devising of policies and programmes
• goals and targets
• evaluation strategies
• allocation of responsibility and resources
• communication of policies and programmes.

Myth busting

The Statistics New Zealand 2013 and 2018 Census’ for household labour force information indicates that:^{2 3 4 5}

• 24% of our total population has an impairment lasting six months or more.
• The rate of impairment increases with age.
• Māori are more likely to have impairments and have higher disability rates in all age groups than any other ethnic groups, despite their young age profile.
• Education and employment outcomes are much worse for Māori disabled people than any other ethnic group.
• Disabled people are less likely than non-disabled people to hold a formal qualification. In June 2018, 59.6% of disabled people held a formal qualification, compared with 83.2% of non-disabled people, a gap of 23.6% and 19.5% for those aged 15-64 years.
• In June 2020, 48.2% of young disabled people (15–24 years) were not in employment, education or training, compared with 10.6% for non-disabled youth.
• Between 2012 and 2017 ⁶ only 2% of disabled people gained a Bachelors or higher qualification compared to 8% of non-disabled people. However, of the disabled learners enrolled in Bachelors or higher qualifications, 58% completed their qualification, a rate similar to their non-disabled peers.
• In 2019, the TEC found that if given the right support these disabled learners were equally likely to complete their qualification as their non-disabled people. The difference in completion rates at Bachelors and all other levels, compared with non-disabled learners, wasn’t statistically significant.
• Disabled people are less likely to be employed than non-disabled people by a significant margin, a gap of 39.6% (December 2020, 38.7% vs 78.3% of those 15-64 years).
• Disabled people are also more likely to work part time, mostly in manual, low skilled and low income jobs, and are under-represented in higher-income occupations.
• It has been reported that disabled people with qualifications were employed at the same rate as non-disabled people without qualifications.
• In 2013, 74% of disabled people not employed wanted a job and only 10% of employed disabled people required modifications or equipment to help them do their job, and only 28% had difficulty doing some tasks or duties.
• Therefore, the majority of disabled people required similar workplace support as the general population.