CONTEXT The Europe 2020 strategy calls for efforts to reduce to less than 10% by 2020 the proportion of people aged 18-24 who leave education and training with lower secondary education at most. According to the main statistical findings (Eurostat) in the EU as a whole the rate of early leavers from school and education is much higher for disabled people, especially for those with specific learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders, than for those not having a disability: 31.5 % compared with 12.3 %. As the EU population is getting older, the number of Europeans with disabilities is rising significantly. They remain consistently disadvantaged in terms of employment, education and social inclusion, as discrimination is still a major obstacle. OBJECTIVES The main aim of the IDEA project is exchange of best practices and knowledge on innovative work-based learning methodologies (school-work programs, internships, apprenticeships etc.) for VET teachers, trainers and mentors to increase the current percentage of young people with disabilities who come to qualification and who enter in the labour market for the first time. By implementing this project, among Italian, Spain, French, Romanian, Finnish and Belgian organisations, we aim to discover our neighbours context, practices, challenges and initiatives, regarding the access of disabled learner on vocational training. During the length of the project, especially during the meetings among the partners, the partnership intends to: - Develop the knowledge of partners’ staff on the local contexts abroad (social, economical, cultural and legal perspectives) and approaches facilitating disabled people inclusion in each partner’s place. - Create awareness and interest among organisations dealing with European mobility (VET centers, Mobility agencies...) so that they consider disabled learners as potential beneficiaries. - Develop the confidence of European staff dealing with learners with disability, especially regarding European opportunities like ERASMUS, by discovering successful initiatives. TARGET GROUPS: The direct target groups will be institutions and professionals in vocational training system and in employment services directly involved in the partnership or in the second level network which, thanks to the European exchange, will be able to innovate their practices and methodologies. The indirect target groups, therefore, will be young people with disabilities ((learners, recent graduates of a VET provider and unemployed). DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES AND METHODOLOGY # 3 Transnational project meetings: - The first Kick off meeting in Italy to set up the partnership; - Intermediate meeting in Belgium (at the end of I year) to evaluate the realization of the first project activities and developing the second part of project activities (the second kick off meeting) - The final kick off meeting (place of venue yet to be agreed) to evaluate the results of all the activities realized and discuss follow up # 5 Short-term joint staff training events to exchange practices and to allow peer-learning about: - Innovative work-based learning methodologies (school-work programs, internships, apprenticeships etc.) for teachers/Vet provider to increase the current percentage of young people with disabilities who come to qualification and who enter in the labour market for the first time; - identifying the most innovative best practices which may be transferable to other European countries in national / local context on assistive technologies and inclusive methodologies for young people with disabilities. EXPECTED IMPACTS • on the participants involved in the short-time joint staff training events: improvement of the hard skills and competences of training and job service providers in terms of methodologies to foster the first flow of young people with disability into the labour market. Furthermore, project participants will discover new environment and work cultures. It also will strengthen transversal key competences, such as learning-to-learn and communication skills, a sense of initiative and European citizenship. • participating organisations and their professionals – not directly involved in the project - will improve the quality of services and the adoption of innovative work practices, organisational learning by discovering new and different methodologies for the employment of people with disability. This will open their perspective and increase their self-confidence in a basilar understanding of European Union Programmes, especially in Erasmus Programme. • indirect target groups young with disabilities benefit from the best practice exchanged in terms of new approaches, new methodologies in order to increase their employability, self-confidence and economic and social independence. • other relevant stakeholders will involve in each short-time joint training to reinforce the mutual enrichment of practice and networking at bilateral, regional/national.
The main aim of the IDEA project was the exchange of best practices and knowledge on innovative work-based learning methodologies (such as school-work programs, internships, apprenticeships, etc.) for VET teachers, trainers, and mentors to increase the then-current percentage of young people with disabilities who came to qualification and entered the labor market for the first time. By implementing this project among Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian, Finnish, and Belgian organizations, the goal was to explore the contextual backgrounds, practices, challenges, and initiatives of our neighbors regarding the access of disabled learners to vocational training. Throughout the project's duration, particularly during meetings among the partners, the partnership intended to: - Develop the knowledge of partners' staff on the local contexts abroad and approaches facilitating the inclusion of disabled people - Raise awareness and interest among organizations dealing with European mobility so that they considered disabled learners as potential beneficiaries. - Build the confidence of European staff dealing with learners with disabilities, especially regarding European opportunities like ERASMUS, by discovering successful initiatives.
The Europe 2020 strategy calls for efforts to reduce to less than 10% by 2020 the proportion of people aged 18-24 who leave education and training with lower secondary education atmost. According to the main statistical findings (Eurostat) in the EU as a whole the rate of early leavers from school and education is much higher for disabled people, especially for those with specific learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders, than for those not having a disability: 31.5 % compared with 12.3 %. They remain consistently disadvantaged in terms of employment, education and social inclusion, as discrimination is still a major obstacle. IAL Lombardia firmly believes in building local networks among various organizations/services dedicated to disabilities and social issues and promotes the establishment of partnership networks with public services, consortia, special companies, businesses, and employment agencies, thereby creating synergy to integrate and enhance diverse skills and respond to the needs of people with disabilities and the labor market. The needs addressed by the project actions specifically revolve around the bridge between professional schools for young people with disabilities and the labour market.