There is no general belief in Malta that disabled people could work because there is no culture or benchmarks, according to an expert in supported employment.

Malta has an abysmally low employment rate for people with a disability, at only 4.5 per cent.

Times of Malta had reported last month that out of 4,805 attempts by the Employment and Training Corporation to find a job for disabled people last year, 23 people were successfully employed.

“Even if you didn’t try, you’d get more people than 23. Even by accident you should be getting more than that. It’s a terrible, terrible figure,” said Michael Evans, a former president of the European Union of Supported Employment.

Even by accident you should be getting more than 23 disabled people employed. It’s a terrible, terrible figure

While a personnel manager at Dundee City Council, Scotland, he helped more than 16,000 disabled people find work.

He was on his fifth visit to Malta this week, brought over by the Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disabilities to give training in supported employment.

This is a process, Mr Evans explains, which takes a person with a disability from inactivity to employment by getting to know them, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and then connecting them to the open labour market.

It is a very person-centred approach that can be complemented by providing work placements and supporting employers.

Trainees on his course hailed from organisations such as Inspire, the ETC and Mcast – but one organisation’s absence was glaringly visible to Mr Evans.

“The National Commission Persons with Disability did not attend. It was at no cost to them – and yet they didn’t turn up.”

For Mr Evans, changing the mentality that employing a disabled person equals ticking the corporate responsibility box has to come “from both directions”.

“When has there ever been something akin to a marketing campaign from the government to say disabled people can do stuff, without making it too goody-goody?

“But you don’t always need legislation. Supported employment works everywhere – what’s different about Maltese disabled people that they can’t do it?

“I don’t necessarily blame the employers’ reluctance [to employ disabled people].

“What they want is a person who can do the job. So imagine you’d tell them: ‘I can find you a person, I can train him for you and I’ll be on call if there’s ever a problem’.

“It’s like a super recruitment agency. But there needs to be a service – the employer needs to be confident that if there’s an issue two years down the line, they can pick up the phone and somebody will address it. At the moment, if you have a person with a disability at work, who would the employer call?”

Mr Evans estimates setting up such a national programme in Malta would cost €250,000. The centre would cater for some 150 disabled people a year and employ eight or nine job coaches supporting 10 to 15 people each.

The coaches would help identify job preferences of people with physical and intellectual disabilities and help them do short-term work experience placements with employers, followed by job searching.

“Lots of people with physical disabilities can do professional or semi-professional jobs.

“People with intellectual disabilities may be looking at unskilled jobs – and there are plenty of them in Malta.

“Employers are always looking for unskilled labour with the hope of maybe progressing to skilled labour.”

Mr Evans is concerned about the ETC’s plan to open a ‘self-employment’ workshop in Msida, which will engage some 120 people with a disability in the likes of document management, call centre operation and product assembly and labelling.

“The whole of Europe is closing sheltered workshops down. And Malta’s opening them up. Is that the right direction? Rhetorical question.”

During his visits to Malta, Mr Evans met ministers in both the current and previous administrations, including Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo, who he said were “genuinely interested”.

“But it’s what’s done that counts. What I’m waiting to see from Malta is some results.”

Ultimately, the problem boils down to lack of leadership.

“Too many self-proclaimed experts; or experts with no expertise, that’s a good one,” he concludes wryly.