WorkAble Erasmus Project

Project Title

WorkAble

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 2020

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

The context and objectives of WorkAble are to develop 12 good practice case studies through knowledge exchange visits between four partner countries; UK, Poland, Greece and Romania. The case studies are designed to give teachers, both within the project and across the EU, guidance in preparing innovative work programmes for disabled young people to strengthen opportunities for sustainable employment after school or college. Partners are chosen carefully, as each have innovative work based learning practices to share but also because disability employment is a key issue in each partner country. A Eurostat poll of October 2019 indicated the percentage of population of young people aged 16 and over at risk of poverty and social exclusion because of inactivity in the labour market because of disability in Greece at 32.3%, Poland at 29,5%, Romania at 37.6% and the UK at 32.2%. With the Highest in North Macedonia at 50.7%. Improving opportunities for young people with disabilities to enter employment is a key objective in vocational education and training. Professional development of teachers to deliver innovative work programmes through VET is essential, and this project aims to do just that. This project aims to provide guidance through developing and publishing 12 models of good practice across four partner organisations in the VET of people with disabilities. The focus will be on those schemes that provide innovative training and work programmes that support employment opportunities for disabled learners. These will include best practice in;
• Giving advice and guidance services for future employment for persons with disabilities:
• Work skills teaching programmes for Persons with disabilities
• Employer engagement models
• Setting up social enterprise models for employment
• Developing Entrepreneurship
• Establishing a work based learning curriculum
• Learner voices – Models of student engagement and capturing feedback. Stories of successful employment placements and placements that have not worked well.
• Good practice examples of specific vocational work suited to person with specific disabilities.
Teachers will see 12 innovative models of best practice hosted by each partner and be able to develop their own working practice – Each partner will develop three case studies in detail and publish these in order to share through a project website to other organisations working in VET with disabled learners or trainees.
The overall aim is to promote inclusion within employment for young people with disabilities across the EU – to look at what is working well and share this to enable others to develop opportunities in VET for greater innovation and inclusion in working practice for young people with disabilities.
To do this the project will schedule one week long visit to each partner country by three representatives from each partner over two years of the project in order to observe specific examples of innovative work-based learning or and employment practice. The project will give opportunities for 12 professionals working within specialist work based learning from each country, to see and share examples of good practice.
These will be developed into 12 case studies, 3 from each partner country and published to a project web site. Case studies will aim to give practice guidance on innovative methods and schemes that are successfully supporting employment and inclusion for young disabled people. It is envisaged that these case studies will provide an incentive of ideas that will be a legacy for all VET teachers working with young people with disabilities and employers looking for ways to improve access to the labour market across the EU.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 72470 Eur

Project Coordinator

National Star Foundation & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Zespol Szkol Budowlanych w Rybniku
• Scoala Gimnaziala Speciala – Centru de Resurse si Documentare privind Educatia Incluziva/Integrata
• MANPOWER EMPLOYMENT ORGANISATION