The main conclusions arrived at in the study are:
6.2.1 Service Users
The service users are quite content being employed at protected workshops. Many of them are not prepared to seek employment elsewhere. The supervisors are patient with them and treat them with respect. They find the supervisors approachable and if they do not understand anything they are not afraid to ask them. The service users display good work habits in that they are punctual, their attendance is good, they are
committed to their work and they are respectful. Their sense of commitment is evident in that during the recent bus strike they used alternate means of transport to get to work. They value the opinion of the supervisors greatly. They don’t seem to possess long term goals.
6.2.2 Skills training at protected workshops
Judging from the responses of the service users that I interviewed I found that, although they received skills training in block-making and bead-making, none of them put their skills to use in finding employment in the open labour market. The service users were apprehensive to venture into the open labour market. With regard to bead-making, the supervisors or other service providers should teach the service users to make bracelets as this was the only item of jewellery they had not learnt to make. When they learn to make this item of jewellery they would be able to make the full set of products and this could then be sold to the general public. At the moment the skills they have acquired are not being put to use to earn extra income.
The consumables required for jewellery-making can be purchased by the workshops with the monies they earn doing contract work. The completed sets can then be sold to the public by advertising their wares and taking orders as there is a big demand for costume jewellery.
6.2.3 Employment opportunities
The service users are quite happy being employed at Challenge and they are not under any pressure to find employment in the open labour market. Of the two that attempted to seek employment in the open labour market, only one was successful in securing employment for a short period of time. The service users view the negative attitude of the employers as a barrier to them finding employment. This reaffirms the findings of Edmonds (2005), Briggs (2005) and Seirlis and Swartz (2006) with regard to attitudinal barriers that prevent disabled people finding employment. The service users that I interviewed have not made concerted efforts to seek employment.
Without making an attempt they assume that their chances of finding employment are very limited.
It must also be borne in mind that not all skills training will lead to employment in the open labour market. As in the case of my participants there may not be available opportunities for bead-making and block-making. Therefore skills training need to be done in areas where there is a niche market.
6.2.4 Confidence
I found that the service users I interviewed lacked confidence in most instances. This lack of confidence prevents them from being self-determined individuals. Although they have acquired skills in bead-making, they are not confident enough to start making their own jewellery for resale purposes or even for themselves. They are not putting this skill to use. In some instances their lack of confidence in their ability is preventing them from trying out new patterns or styles. Others may lack the creative ability to do so. Their lack of confidence in their ability is also evident when they indicated that they would not be able to make jewellery for resale purposes on their own as they would need other people to assist. None of them have even pursued this skill as a hobby. Although some are able to afford the consumables required for bead-making they made no effort in purchasing these items. Transport is also not a problem as they are able to travel to central Durban using public transport therefore, if they really wanted to purchase these consumables, they could have. Their lack of autonomy and their dependency on the workshop supervisors seem quite evident.
6.2.5 Protected Workshops
There are nine protected workshops run by the Durban and Coastal Mental Health Society. They provide employment for people with psychiatric illnesses and intellectual disabilities. Service users are engaged in contract work and at certain workshops they learn skills like bead-making and block-making. These skills are not taught at all workshops. Service users enjoy being employed at these workshops.
Rather than the open labour market these workshops are seen as alternate places of employment. The service users are shielded from the harsh realities like
competitiveness, deadlines and pressures of the open labour market. Work at protected workshops is seen as an occupation rather than as a vocation.
6.2.6 Workshop Supervisors
The workshop supervisors are friendly, helpful and patient. Most of them have been employed at these protected workshops for many years. They obviously enjoy what they are doing and have over the years realised that the service users are different to them. When teaching the service users they use a lot of demonstration, speak in a language that the service users understand and demonstrate to them step by step how an activity should be done. The supervisors have shown a lot of initiative in that they were able to arrange ABET and dance lessons for the service users. In many instances the supervisors have been responsible for teaching the service users skills.
The methods used in teaching these skills made it easy for the service users to grasp and understand. However, with regard to bead-making, the supervisors did not encourage the service users to pursue the skill and experiment with new patterns or to attempt to sell the completed items of jewellery. They need to make the service users aware that this skill could generate additional income for them as there is a niche-market for costume jewellery. Once the service users have made sufficient items of jewellery the supervisors could encourage them to advertise the products through the media. The supervisors see their role as being protective of the service users and perceive them to be dependent on them and as lacking autonomy.
6.2.7 Stigma
The respondents in this study reported experiences of stigma and discrimination.
People through their ignorance still regard people with intellectual disabilities as belonging in the same category as those afflicted with mental illnesses. They do not realise that these people are capable of leading independent lives. I also found that some respondents in my study had an internalised stigma about themselves regarding their disability. Many of them believe that their employment opportunities in the labour market are limited and therefore are not prepared to apply for another job.
Without attempting to seek employment they believe employers are not prepared to
employ them. This stigma could be the result of self-fulfilling prophecy and internalised oppression.