Enhancing Employability Skills of Persons with Disabilities Erasmus Project

Project Title

Enhancing Employability Skills of Persons with Disabilities

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

One out of seven people in the European Union (EU) has a disability on diverse levels disadvantaging around 70 million people in taking part fully in society (Eurostat, 2018). In addition, according to EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020, more than half of all Europeans consider discrimination on grounds of disability or age to be widespread in the EU.
If EU’s Europe 2020 Strategy is to be fully accomplished, integration of people with disability into all social, economic and political aspects of the society is essential. Starting from this assumption, the ENABLE project supports the introduction, implementation and promotion of innovative and qualitative elements in non-formal education and disability work bringing together the target group of people with mental disabilities with the field of employment and labour market in partner countries (Belgium, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain) that are severely struck by unemployment rates, which become even higher if we take into consideration people affected by disabilities in general.

The ENABLE project foresees a set of activities directly targeting mentally disabled people (25-40 years old) with the aims of:
– Raising their awareness on the situations of misinformation which may have negative repercussions in their active life, often leading to difficulties and/or incapacity to look and find a job.
– Empowering them in order to fully exploit their skills and abilities for enjoying a productive life and possibly to increase their social and economic autonomy, thus giving tools to react to inactivity, unemployment, lack of active participation and citizenship.

ENABLE lies on the assumption that the inclusion of disabled people and the fight against negative stereotypes is strictly connected with the activation of the target group and their increased role in society. In fact, the project will mainly focus on how to fully express the gifts of a person with mental disability to live a free and autonomous life, and share the lessons learned with their communities in order to prevent and reduce prejudices.

The project will produce the following results:

1. 5 context sheets and 5 review reports (1 per following country: Belgium, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain), based on the analysis of at least 50 interviews (10 per country), 5 focus groups with at least 50 people (1 wit at least 10 people per country), and 250 answers to the online survey (50 answers per country).
2. A Capacity Building program involving at least 65 people affected by mental disabilities (15 in Belgium, Italy, Spain and 10 in Romania and Slovenia) as trainees. The program will deliver at least 18 workshops of 4 hours per country, for a total of 72 hours of training per country. Sessions will be based on a wide range of methods (such as: Forum theater, Reversed Approach, Person-Centered Planning), so to allow full interaction and both ways communication between trainers and trainees.
3. Production of at least 40 personal branding videos and video curricula (8 per country on average).
4. Launch of one pan-European awareness campaign through social media and offline activities reaching at least 5.000 people (average of 1.000 people per country, counting all likes/views of all posts through all social networks) promoting branding videos and video curricula.
5. Organisation of at least 5 job days involving 150 people (1 per country with at least 30 participants).
6. Production of one toolkit to be viewed/downloaded by at least 1.000 people, summing up the most important outputs and activities of the capacity building program.
7. Organisation of at least 10 seminars with a total amount of at least 100 participants (2 per country, each of them attended by at least 10 people).
8. Organisation of one International Exchange in Brussels bringing together at least 15 participants from five EU countries facilitating mobility of people with disabilities.
9. Release of one Review on European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (available both in English and in all partners’ languages) with the perception and opinions of people with disabilities, activists and experts on EU disability policy.
10. Organisation of one final international conference in Brussels bringing together at least 50 participants.

The actions envisaged in the project are particularly designed to promote disabled people’s commitment towards a more inclusive growth, by tackling the issue of disability unemployment stimulating unemployed disabled people’s mobility and active participation in society. Via project activities, people with disabilities will have a chance to exhibit their skills and capabilities to the society in a creative and technological way via video curricula as well as via campaigning days presenting their products and video curricula in partner countries.

Project Website

http://www.enable-project.org

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 273316,98 Eur

Project Coordinator

Ateliers indigo du Plateau96 & Country: BE

Project Partners

• LIGA ROMANA PENTRU SANATATE MINTALA ASOCIATIE
• OZARA STORITVENO IN INVALIDSKO PODJETJE DOO
• FUNDACION INTRAS
• BES Cooperativa Sociale