Citation: Ebrahim, A.; Lorenzo, T.; Kathard, H. Traversing Disability: Building Social Capital through Skill Development for Employment. Disabilities 2022, 2, 439–450. https:// doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2030031 Academic Editors: Michele Foster and Reinie Cordier Received: 4 April 2022 Accepted: 23 July 2022 Published: 29 July 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Article Traversing Disability: Building Social Capital through Skill Development for Employment Adèle Ebrahim * , Theresa Lorenzo and Harsha Kathard Department of Health and Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa; theresa.lorenzo@uct.ac.za (T.L.); harsha.kathard@uct.ac.za (H.K.) * Correspondence: adele.ebrahim@uct.ac.za Abstract: This paper investigates the influence of social capital in the training of persons with disabilities. The expansion of social networks is regarded as a central principle of the rehabilitation agenda and thus is a central concept that may influence the training experiences of persons with disabilities. Absent from much of social capital research is its influence on skill development and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Social capital has the potential to play an important role in the livelihoods of persons with disabilities who are at high risk of being marginalised. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore and critically examine the experiences of persons with disabilities who participated in an auxiliary skill development programme, to determine whether and how it has strengthened and expanded their social capital to advance their opportunities for economic inclusion and/or employment. There is currently no convincing practice available, particularly in the South African employment landscape, around how social capital can be incorporated in the employment of persons with disabilities. An intrinsic case study approach was utilised as it allowed for the identification and description of an employability-related skill development programme for persons with disabilities. In this paper, we argue that the transfer of skills alone is not enough for persons with disabilities to gain employment. Keywords: disability; social capital; employment; skill development; livelihoods 1. Introduction Persons with disabilities have historically faced pervasive inaccessibility that has perpetuated their exclusion from community participation [1]. Responses to the issue of disability include the segregation of individuals into residential and long-term care facilities, which ultimately leave them in the care of professionals and policy makers [1]. However, the development of policy mandates increasingly supports the expansion of community-based rehabilitation services, accommodations, and support systems and are now focusing on the capabilities and rights of persons with disabilities [2]. The expansion of and participation in social networks is thus regarded as a central principle of the rehabilitation agenda [3]. If the expansion of social networks is a central concept, then its influence of labour and social and economic development on health and well-being require consideration. In South Africa and internationally, there is policy written and work performed around empowering persons with disabilities to earn an income to become economically active. Similarly, much has been written about the importance of social inclusion for persons with disabilities [4]. In 2001, the World Health Organization developed the International Classi- fication of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), a framework for the conceptualisation, classification, and measurement of health and health-related domains within disability [5]. The ICF framework proposes that the health of persons with disabilities is a multidimen- sional experience. Psychosocial influences, biological processes, and environmental factors are equally enmeshed in how individuals experience their disability. The main tenet of this framework is that the ultimate goal for persons with disabilities is not merely to enhance Disabilities 2022, 2, 439–450. https://doi.org/10.3390/disabilities2030031 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/disabilities