Employment Policies for People with Disabilities in Kosovo

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to understand the employment policies related to people with disabilities in Kosovo. Two main methods are used in the paper, first, the method of analysing statistical and administrative data on the situation of persons with disabilities in the labour market, and analysing budget expenditures for disability schemes in Kosovo, and, second, the method of analysing institutional strategies, action plans, and primary and secondary legislation governing the employment of persons with disabilities. The main conclusions of the paper are: (i) Kosovo does not have official statistics regarding the number of persons with disabilities in general, and their situation in the labour market; (ii) expenditure from Kosovo’s budget for financing disability schemes has steadily increased in the last three years; (iii) Kosovo has prepared and adopted an advanced legal framework that promotes vocational training, vocational retraining and employment of people with disabilities; iv) Kosovo does not have a strategic document (strategy or action plan) that defines the vision and long-term goal of increasing the employment of persons with disabilities.