Autism and the world of work: Luxembourg's untapped talent

Paul Jansen (name changed by the editors) is 37 years old and lives with autism. He has been working in a sheltered workshop (atelier protégé or atelier d'inclusion professionnelle) for 15 years. When he listens to RTL radio on 3 September 2024, he feels understood. Joël Delvaux, from the OGBL's department for employees with disabilities, was a guest on the programme.

In the radio interview, Delvaux explains that many people spend their entire professional career in a sheltered workshop and never make it out the way they were meant to. There are many reasons for this, but the two most important are "that the primary labour market is not brave enough to employ people with a disability in their company". In some cases, companies do not respect the laws that oblige them to do so, depending on their size.(More on this in this article) "On the other hand, the workshops have given up to a certain extent and are concentrating on what is happening internally." The fact is: "If a sheltered workshop wants to produce, it needs people who can do it. These are usually people who would be suitable for the primary labour market, but they want to keep them in order to guarantee their production, " says Delvaux.

The study Les salariés handicapés au Luxembourg, published by the Ministry of Labour in June 2024, states that as of December 2023, 4,639 people are employed in the Grand Duchy with the status of disabled employee. Of these, 1,529, or 33%, work in sheltered workshops, while 3,110, or 67%, work in the primary labour market. 1.917 people with the status of disabled employee were registered with Adem at the time, while 671 people were neither employed nor looking for work. "The figures don't sound bad at first, but it is often very difficult for these people to find permanent employment, " Joël Delvaux contextualises in the radio interview.

The blocked

Paul Jansen feels first-hand that sheltered workshops want to keep their best workers. Since graduating from 13ième in 2009, he has been working in a sheltered workshop in the IT sector. He thinks it's a good thing that he took his first steps on the labour market there. It was supposed to be a transitional phase. "Social work wasn't my thing at first. But I was able to work on it with a psychologist and make great progress." He now feels ready to gain a foothold in the primary labour market.