VIP and new technologies: easy acess to job market Erasmus Project

Project Title

VIP and new technologies: easy acess to job market

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 youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

“VIP and new technologies: easy access to job market” – YOUTH & innovation strategic partnership project about supporting youth unemployed young visually impaired persons (following called VIP) to prepare and look for a job. The project consortium was formed out of four organisations: Views International (Belgium) as coordinator, Fondación Docete Omnes (Spain), Soc. Cooperativa Aforisma (Pisa) and Istituto Rittmeyer (Trieste) from Italy as project partners. During 24 months (1/02/2018 – 31/01/2020), we organised four transnational meetings, two short-term joint staff events, two national multiplier events (Florence – Italy and Granada- Spain) and one final international multiplier event (Brussels-Belgium). Over the course of the project, two intellectual outputs saw the light: a browser App and an online training platform, which connect young visually impaired persons with companies and various job providers. The direct number of young people that took part in the project were around 4 hundred and the results of the project reached around 600 other European young visually impaired persons. The methodology used was a mix of several types of non-formal means: brainstorming, working in small groups, debates, peer to peer learning, public debates, mock job interview workshops, training & info sessions etc.

This strategic partnership is the result of a previous project undertaken from 2015 until 2017 (2015-2-BE04-KA205-001686); which tackled the theme of unemployment of youth, who is visually impaired. While implementing the previous project we got aware of the fact that the low rate of unemployment of visually impaired persons in Europe is not due to lack of dissemination of information about capabilities of visually impaired persons or because employers were quite often unaware of the support that they can get when hiring a person with special needs, but also because a large part of young visually impaired persons does not have a clear knowledge about using online tools in looking for a job. This seems to be caused by lack of self-confidence due to low self-esteem and reduced soft skills (how to dress for a job interview, how to present oneself, how to overcome “barrier of visual contact” with the others, etc.)

The main objectives we set for this project were:
1) to equip young visually impaired persons (18-35 years old) with soft skills via an on-line platform training courses useful to be successful for a job interview;
2) to empower young visually impaired persons in using on-line tools in order to look for a job by using a new app that will be developed during this project;
3) to increase the confidence of young visually impaired people in their capacities in accessing new professions (not only phone operator/massage therapist/ticket seller for the national lottery as it is mostly the case in the three countries represented in this project);
4) to reach an awareness of public agencies, unemployment offices, employers that it is possible and highly desirable to make our society more inclusive and supportive with young persons with visual impairment by using new adapted technologies.

The main results of this project are:
– IO1 is a web app adapted to all devices. It allows users to search for job offers as well as to publish them. It is fully compatible with screen readers for both computers and mobile devices.
– IO2 is a platform designed to train skills useful in the job search. It is available in 4 languages: English, French, Italian and Spanish (and currently being translated to Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian and Flemish)
Both tools are fully accessible to blind and visually impaired people.

This strategic partnership improved the interaction between different employment institutions, employers and visually impaired beneficiaries. It empowered young VIP skills (use of online tools). The long term benefits translate into accessible materials (web app & online training platform) for young VIP’s around Europe and in this way, they became more confident and successful in looking for a job.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 181852,37 Eur

Project Coordinator

VISUALLY IMPAIRED EDUCATION AND WORK SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL AISBL & Country: BE

Project Partners

• ISTITUTO REGIONALE RITTMEYER PER I CIECHI DI TRIESTE
• Fundacion Docete Omnes
• SOCIETA’ COOPERATIVA A.FO.RI.S.MA. – ACLI FORMAZIONE RICERCA SERVIZI MANAGEMENT