Can people with disabilities obtain income by using skills learned from vocational trainings? Evidence from mainland China

Li, Wei1; Ni, Tianran2; Zhang, Yi2; Wang, Daan3; Parrado, Salvador4

2023-10-01

10.1108/HESWBL-02-2023-0027

HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AND WORK-BASED LEARNING   Impact Factor & Quartile

2042-3896

2042-390X

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effects of vocational training programs for people with disabilities on their income.Design/methodology/approachIt conducted a multinomial regression analysis of 10,469 survey responses from 31 provincial administrative areas in mainland China.FindingsIt finds the following antecedents all influence the trainees' self-reported income, including their perception of the quality of the program, the training subject, the degree of consistency between their current job and this subject, their employment sector, their motivation and access to training resources and the geographical location of the program.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are not representative of people with disabilities across mainland China because the respondents were not randomly sampled.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that to increase the income of people with disabilities, the training can be designed according to the needs of employers by teaching subjects relevant to the needs of the labor market, reaching out to motivated trainees and enhancing the quality of training. Training institutions, employers and governments are recommended to work together to integrate class-based learning with workplace-based learning and practices. More training resources can be devoted to the self-employed people with disabilities or those who operate in the informal sector and are in less-developed areas.Social implicationsThe improvement of employment opportunities and income of people with disabilities supports the safeguarding of their social economic rights and the building of an inclusive society.Originality/valueFew studies have empirically explored and explained the effects of vocational training programs on people with disabilities' income. This article fills this gap by assessing the performance of China's vocational training programs funded by the Federation of Disabled Persons at all levels.

Vocational training Employment support People with disabilities Skills and income Quality of training programs

ESCI

English

Corresponding

The research is funded by Huazhong University of Science and Technology Start-up (No: 3004407128), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Social Sciences(No: 4052231) and National Social Science Funds of China (No: 18BZZ097)[3004407128] ; Huazhong University of Science and Technology Start-up[4052231] ; Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Social Sciences[18BZZ097]

Education & Educational Research

Education & Educational Research

WOS:001077574600001

EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD

Web of Science

1.Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol, Coll Publ Adm, Wuhan, Peoples R China
2.Univ Int Business & Econ, Beijing, Peoples R China
3.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Inst Integr, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Peoples R China
4.Natl Univ Distance Learning, Madrid, Spain

Li, Wei,Ni, Tianran,Zhang, Yi,et al. Can people with disabilities obtain income by using skills learned from vocational trainings? Evidence from mainland China[J]. HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AND WORK-BASED LEARNING,2023.

Li, Wei,Ni, Tianran,Zhang, Yi,Wang, Daan,&Parrado, Salvador.(2023).Can people with disabilities obtain income by using skills learned from vocational trainings? Evidence from mainland China.HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AND WORK-BASED LEARNING.

Li, Wei,et al."Can people with disabilities obtain income by using skills learned from vocational trainings? Evidence from mainland China".HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AND WORK-BASED LEARNING (2023).