The main goal of the project is to overcome barriers related to students’ intellectual disabilities by ensuring the quality and effectiveness of vocational and general education taking into account psychophysical predispositions in such a way that they can function independently in society, i.e. - improving competences and professional qualifications, including practical skills of youths being educated in the following professions: hotel service assistant, cook and mason-plasterer. Striving to provide students with intellectual disabilities acquire professional competences on an equal footing with their able-bodied colleagues through practical education in connection with employers, also from the EU. Increasing opportunities of students with disabilities to pass the BSIs Vocational Examination. Raising self-esteem through personal and professional development, breaking through fear, dealing with barriers (not only physical) and comprehensive self-empowerment (both in interpersonal contacts and in the scope of performed practical tasks). Acquiring language competences in the field of professional English and general Spanish, social competences and competences in the use of ICT, increase intercultural awareness, sense of tolerance, equalize employment opportunities, source of personal satisfaction, a sense of social inclusion, and with all this also a quality uplift of work of the institution, making the educational offer more attractive, increasing the prestige of the institution in the region.
The project was created because our key need is to provide disabled students with optimal conditions in order to achieve a success and to give them a chance to improve both their key and professional competencies. What is more, we were eager to provide them with an opportunity to develop their social skills by overcoming barriers related to intellectual disabilities by ensuring them with quality and effectiveness of professional and general education having regard to psychophysical predisposition, in such a way that they could live independently in society. We felt a need to provide intellectually disabled youth to acquire qualifications and professional competencies on an equal footing with their able-bodied colleagues. We were aware of the fact that youths might acquire better professional effects thanks to practical education and cooperation with employers and that the system of professional education in other European countries would allow our students to gain the abilities and experience necessary to function well in the world of today’s economy. Thanks to apprenticeships which were held at our foreign associates, disabled student automatically improves his or her chances receiving a satisfying result at vocational exam, which includes doing practical tasks. Moreover, knowing English will enhance job opportunities. Students with intellectual disabilities by attending the foreign internships will confront the level of services in Poland with the level of services in foreign companies and this will stimulate the need for education and professional improvement in acquiring knowledge and skills, and more importantly, it will increase their professional mobility. An intellectually disabled school graduate should be able to take up quickly his or her first job with the learned profession, but also flexibly adapt to the changing demand of employers for specific skills on the domestic and foreign market. The implementation of the projects will help in educating a self-confident graduate with a disability, ready to perform all professional duties entrusted to him.