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This labour market assessment (LMA) has been conducted to collect a baseline to inform the implementation of the Inclusion works project.  The LMA evaluated the economic trends and patterns and identified growth sectors and subsectors with a high propensity for job creation. Using value chain analysis, the LMA identified the kind of jobs available in the selected subsectors and the type of skills and educational qualifications required to fill them. The study also analysed the flows and stocks of education that the workforce possess to match the demand in the selected subsectors. Furthermore, the LMA assessed functionality of labour market coordination system and how existing policies and structures influence the labour market.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

This labour market assessment (LMA) was important to ensure the Inclusion Works programme interventions are strategic and provide the most optimal way to address unemployment challenges facing persons with disabilities. This LMA was designed to answer key questions associated with perspectives on: policy; coordination systems; employer; training and recruitment service providers; and job seekers. To address the questions, the assessment attempted to identify; the growing sectors and job opportunities in Lagos, Abuja and Jigawa States, the demand and supply of skills for enabling persons with disabilities to compete for current and future job opportunities, and understanding barriers for employers and persons with disabilities with regards to disability inclusive formal employment while focusing on both current and future opportunities in formal and informal sectors.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development cites poverty eradication as both the ‘greatest global challenge’ and an ‘indispensable requirement’ for sustainable development (UN, 2015). Unfortunately, the path between discourse and practice is rarely clear. This is especially true for the estimated one billion people with disabilities around the globe who face barriers and challenges to inclusion in mainstream development efforts; and for whom disability-specific projects and interventions are far and few between. This paper responds to the lack of available data focused on tracking the inclusion of persons with disabilities in mainstream poverty reduction efforts. It reports on work by a multidisciplinary research team in developing and piloting a methodology measuring disability inclusive investments in the World Bank’s active portfolio. The paper focuses specifically on the World Bank’s social protection portfolio, aligned with SDG 1 (End Poverty), and outlines a methodology for analysing project-level documentation, using key word searches, and codes aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals to determine the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Findings indicate that only a small percentage, 5%, of the World Bank’s active social protection portfolio explicitly include persons with disabilities as target beneficiaries. It goes on to argue that this dearth in disability inclusive development efforts exposes a vital need to systematically include the needs of this population in the planning for, provision of, and assessment of development assistance efforts. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for ensuring future projects are inclusive from program development and implementation through to assessment of outcomes.

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2017, Vol. 4 No. 1