The value of enterprise for disabled people

The focus of this paper is on the role of enterprise training
among disabled people. The authors first review the literature, in particular
comparing work on the theoretical benefits of enterprise training
provision for disabled people with empirical studies of enterprise training
initiatives for disabled people in various countries. In the analysis, low
social capital is implicated as a cause of much disadvantage in economic
and social life among disabled people, and this is particularly pertinent in
modern knowledge-based economies where responsibility for development
in the lifelong learning agenda is devolved from governments to individuals,
including disabled individuals. Following this, an investigation of one
publicly funded initiative in Fife, Scotland, is conducted and this is used to
inform a wider debate about the potential uses and value of enterprise
training for disabled people in the current stratified socioeconomic milieu.
The paper argues that there is potential for enterprise training to contribute
on a wider basis than simply independent entrepreneurship promotion
and that the research community therefore has an opportunity to engage
with this broader agenda.