Vocational Guidance and Employability for Blind and Partially Sighted People Erasmus Project

Project Title

Vocational Guidance and Employability for Blind and Partially Sighted People

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; Inclusion – equity; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

Despite of the relevant progresses done in the last years by the EU Legislative systems for social and employment inclusion for blind and visually impaired and the new professional opportunities offered to this peculiar category of job-seekers by the most advanced assistive ICTs for work, their current unemployment rates are still substantially high.
It is due to several structural reasons such as:
-Different definitions of “disability“ and “blindness & visual impairment” from one EU country to another, different types of social security systems, employment regulations and economic situations, making difficult for disabled workers free circulate in EU Labor Market
-Medium-long term periods spent by blind and VI job-seekers on Employment Exchange Services lists, compared with the other workers
-Lack or fragmentary information, not homogeneously widespread among EU countries, about new professional or training opportunities for VIP due to the last assistive ICTs and different level of their knowledge, circulation and adoption in work-places.
So, RADAR aims to tackle the difficult issues related to unemployment rates of blind and VIP in Eu, contributing to fill the lack of information about new opportunities provided by the Labor Market for them and improving the knowledge on current training chances linked to accessibility systems in use and new employment areas. Getting info also on these chances is an essential premise for blind and VIP to create their personal path of growth and professional development.
Starting from these premises, the project acts directly on 2 of the main actors engaged with the approaching and work-placing process for VIP in the Labor Market: Employers and Operators in charge of employment and job-application services (e.g. career guidance professionals, mentors, etc.), both in private or public Offices for Work & VET Inclusion Policies.
RADAR provides for specific actions and products (Intellectual Outputs) aimed to:
-Make Employers more aware about VIP employability issues, showing working tasks and professional roles which could be covered by them and giving information about standards/technological requirements necessary for their optimal working conditions;
-Enhance quality of VET Guidance Services & Work-Placement for blind and partially sighted job-seekers, improving the sectoral competences of their related operators. They will gain more deepen knowledge about new learning opportunities and emerging professions coverable also by VIP thanks to the continuous development/diffusion of ICTs for accessibility and support. Thanks to the large use of these ICTs, indeed, the traditional range of VIP employment can be widen to working roles or tasks considered not accessible, till today
-Improve the competences of trainers, educators, teachers, support teachers and tutors for better managing specific training and working needs of VIP
-Focus a package of peculiar competences for employers, guidance professionals, Labor Services operators, trainers and educators that could be an innovative reference to train/prepare them to effectively deal with blind and VIP needs.
RADAR’s main Outputs are:
I.O1 TRAINING-EMPLOYABILITY-ACCESSIBILITY FRAMEWORK: general comparison framework of VIP work placement and social inclusion procedures, describing –for each involved country-weaknesses, strengths and development lines of accessibility and VET Services through a detailed study of Employers and Labor Services Operators peculiar needs and the more requested professional profiles (or competences) coverable also by blind and VI job-seekers with the last assistive ICTs;
I.O2 SPECIAL GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: targeted lines about new roles and working tasks potentially coverable by VIP using last assistive ICTs, to promote the culture of accessibility on the work-place, including an overview on duties and benefits in hiring;
I.O3 OPERATIVE GUIDELINES FOR VET AND CAREER GUIDANCE OPERATORS – highly operational lines for employment and job-application services operators to be aware of the most adequate strategies to approach/manage the peculiar needs of VI job-seekers, knowing the current available training opportunities (e.g. training courses, internships, etc) and innovative elements for their effective work placement.
These Guidelines’ contents can be useful also for trainers/teachers, support teachers, educators, families: it is not to forget that families and educative professionals have a key role in leading their blind and partially sighted relatives towards a personal and professional growing path.
All the Outputs will be available as OER (published on partners’ websites also with accessibility requirements) to guarantee their widest circulation & spread not only among the involved organizations but even toward all the entrepreneurial actors interested in and other kind of professionals and institutions working in the field of social and working inclusion policies for disadvantage & vulnerable groups.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 327296 Eur

Project Coordinator

I.Ri.Fo.R. Regionale Toscano ONLUS & Country: IT

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITAT LINZ
• Centro Machiavelli S.r.l.
• Polski Zwiazek Niewidomych
• Stichting Bartiméus Sonneheerdt