Disabled people Inclusion and training in Transport and Logistics (DiTL) is an ERAMUS + project which aims to create a toolbox to combat stereotypes, shed light on innovations and initiatives to remove obstacles to the training and employment of disabled people and to provide them with new employment and career prospects in the sector.
To build this toolbox, several activities have been planned. The first one is contextualization: there is the need to understand the social environment. For instance, each State set up some regulations and resources to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. The results are now available and here is a synthesis to tease you to read the full text!
In March 2021, the European Commission adopted the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021–2030, aiming to build a barrier-free Europe and promote the empowerment and full societal participation of persons with disabilities. By 2023, around 27% of Europeans over the age of 16, roughly 101 million people, were living with some form of disability. Despite progress in legislation and awareness, people with disabilities continue to face systemic inequalities, including higher unemployment rates, social exclusion, and poverty.
For example, in 2020, the unemployment rate among young adults with disabilities was 17.7%, compared to just 8.6% for their non-disabled peers. To address these persistent gaps, the Council of the EU urged Member States in 2022 to strengthen vocational training, support transitions into employment, and set national targets for the inclusion of disabled individuals in the workforce.
However, implementation across Europe remains uneven. The absence of a common European definition of disability has led to widely differing criteria and approaches in national legislation. Social benefits, legal recognition, and support systems vary not only between countries but also within them—such as in Spain, where eligibility and services differ across regions. These inconsistencies result in unequal treatment for people with similar disabilities.
Employment quotas, while present in several countries, yield mixed results. Some companies meet these quotas by hiring people with disabilities into low-skilled roles without real inclusion or advancement. In nations like Germany and France, where non-compliance leads to financial penalties, employment rates for people with disabilities are generally higher. These fines can be reinvested into workplace adaptation funds, creating a positive feedback loop—though only if proper enforcement mechanisms exist. In contrast, countries like Ireland, which lack binding targets in the private sector, see some of the widest disability employment gaps.
There are also challenges related to how disability is assessed. Countries apply different thresholds (e.g., 60% incapacity in Portugal, 50% in Germany), making harmonized policy design difficult. Additionally, employers often cite financial and logistical barriers to accommodating workers with disabilities, especially in high-risk sectors such as transport and logistics.
One of the critical tensions explored in this analysis is the perceived conflict between inclusion and safety, which is qui significant in the transport and logistics sector, where rigorous safety standards are non-negotiable. The institutional approach to disability focuses on recognizing physical or cognitive impairments and providing corresponding support. In contrast, the safety logic prioritizes operational risk reduction, which can sometimes be used to justify exclusionary practices.
However, the project DiTL aims to defend the position that these two logics can be reconciled. Inclusion and safety are not inherently contradictory. Through adaptive technologies, modified work environments, and tailored training, workplaces can be both inclusive and secure. Future project activities (e.g., WP3 and WP4) will explore tools and training programs that demonstrate this balance. This is the reason why you should follow DiTL!