INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES INTO LATVIAS LABOUR MARKET - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The article concentrates on the problems related to integrating disabled persons into the labour market and offers suggestions for solving them. The main methods used in the article are analysis of previous research papers, analysis of interviews with experts, and interviews with disabled persons and employers – both those who employ disabled persons and those who do not. Since the deficit in Latvia's workforce is an acute problem, hiring of people with disabilities should be considered as a tool for increasing the number of potential employees in Latvia. Thus employment of people with disabilities has two beneficial effects - it helps to overcome the labour force shortage, and it promotes social inclusion. The latter is one of the problematic areas cited in the Lisbon agenda and other state policy documents. Research results prove that although situation is improving from year to year, a large part of society is still not ready to accept disabled persons. Some of the main reasons for this attitude are lack of experience in communicating with disabled persons and thus insufficient information about them, as well as inadequate infrastructure that hinders possibilities to employ disabled persons, especially wheelchair users. Several aspects should be considered in order to change the situation.