Our project aimed to: 1) foster inclusion: To achieve a broad integration on the labour market, inclusion needs to already start within the education system to make disadvantaged groups reach their full potential in society. 2) provide accessibility: While reducing barriers and providing individual support, the power of language for inclusion must not be underestimated. The use of Plain Language in offline and digital settings in education leads to more inclusion. 3) empower: For personal fulfilment, one needs to have all the necessary information and also understand all of these to take good decision for one’s own future. 4) raise awareness: The awareness for the target group's needs among companies needs to be raised so that the transition from school to work can be successful. Also, the power of standard language and its capacity to exclude people needs to be more present, leading to raised awareness for Plain Language. 5) tackle the project’s topic transnationality: Obstacles of the target group that struggles with understanding standard language applies to all countries. Therefore, the transnational consortium advocated for a European solution.
The motivation was to offer custom-fit instruments to support learners with special needs in their orientation in education and consequently in the integration into the labour market. Especially during the pandemic times, it became obvious that focussing mainly on individual one-to-one support might not always be possible and the lack of suitable digital material led to further exclusion of the target group. The most important challenges/needs, as identified by the partners through their daily work, are: 1. The target group is not prepared to use digital tools as the approaches are mostly based on one-to-one physical support 2. Suitable tools for digital participation of the target group which also take their needs into account are lacking. 3. The covid pandemic showed even more the risk of exclusion of the target group as more effort is needed for full participation in society. 4. The access to training and qualifications for all should be fostered. The support for labour market integration of learners with special needs to be intensified.