DISABILITY INCLUSION
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment( B-BBEE) Act further supports the economic inclusion of people with disabilities. Companies can strengthen their B-BBEE scores by employing people with disabilities or by investing in initiatives that advance their development. This requirement has also recently risen from 2 % to 3 %, signalling a stronger national push for workplace inclusion.
The reality gap Despite the work that has been done, local data still reveals a woeful picture.
There are approximately 3.3 million people in South Africa living with disabilities( about 5.2 % of the population), according to Statistics South Africa data, yet they make up only 1.4 % of the workforce, according to Commission for Employment Equity reports published in 2023.
The International Labour Organisation has calculated that this exclusion costs countries between 1 % and 7 % of GDP annually – meaning South Africa is losing billions while a wealth of talent remains underutilised.“ Many companies struggle to know where to begin, yet Afrika Tikkun has long practiced inclusion as fundamental to our work, working with hundreds of people with disabilities each year as part of our Cradle-to-Career pipeline, that develops young people from early learning to economic empowerment,” says Roy.
“ Beyond the legal requirements, there is the moral imperative to ensure greater inclusion in the workplace because it is the right thing to do,” she says.“ Organisations should be making more of an effort to employ and integrate them.”
A proven solution“ Afrika Tikkun’ s award-winning 360 ° Cradle-to- Career model demonstrates how inclusion works at scale, identifying children with disabilities early, providing specialised educational support, ensuring psychosocial services, offering skills training in accessible formats, and creating employment bridges with partners committed to diversity,” says Roy.
“ Through public-private partnerships we’ re developing a pipeline of skilled young people brimming with potential and ready to join South Africa’ s labour pool to combat the systemic barriers that perpetuate intergenerational poverty.”
Roy says one of the organisation’ s main goals is to ensure meaningful employment and integration for people with disabilities, and it works directly with companies to expand disability representation in their workforce. Afrika Tikkun brings proven methodologies and specialised resources to help organisations make the structural and cultural changes necessary to successfully hire and support disabled staff.
There are approximately 3.3 million people in South Africa living with disabilities( about 5.2 % of the population), according to Stats SA, yet they make up only 1.4 % of the workforce.
A call for corporate collaboration " We’ ve built the infrastructure, we have the candidates and the learnerships, and provide the skills training for people with disabilities. However, meaningful employment requires corporate collaboration. We need a demand-driven, made-to-order approach,” says Roy.
“ The solution requires a shift from passive compliance to active collaboration. We need corporate partners to work with us, proactively articulating their skills requirements, co-designing training pathways, and creating genuine employment opportunities. This approach ensures we ' re developing candidates with the exact competencies employers need.”
“ Having successfully partnered with numerous corporates over three decades, Afrika Tikkun has the track record and expertise to scale disability inclusion across South African business. We stand ready to help organisations transform legal obligation into competitive advantage by accessing the significant talent pool that remains underutilised.” � sabusinessintegrator. co. za 89