The project aims to train professionals in organizations, promote the self-determination and empowerment of people with disabilities, and foster an independent living approach to services through the development and dissemination of accessible digital training materials. This was largely achieved through the "Empowering Independence" e-learning course for professionals and the "Towards Independence" course for people with disabilities, developed in co-production with the recipients. SKILLS provides professionals and organizations in the disability field with methodology and knowledge in the area of independent living and the digital world to contribute to the rapidly evolving digital knowledge gaps. We achieve our main objective—to equip professionals and people with disabilities with knowledge and skills—by providing training tools on the accessible and free SKILLS digital platform https://www.skills-project.eu/, supported by a variety of materials and tools—PowerPoint presentations, ebooks, national resources, and videos—in five languages—English, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, and Italian—that empower professionals and people with disabilities to face the challenges of digital and inclusion.
The partnership aims to include people with disabilities and to innovate in training systems and independent living services to meet their needs. Vocational education and training stakeholders, professionals, and people with disabilities, are not fully prepared for digitalization and participation in an increasingly digital training environment, and access to online information and training is also limited for people with disabilities. We identified the need to develop skills, knowledge, and products for these target groups. We noted the insufficiency of online training materials and products, especially for people with disabilities (PwD). We recognize that the training system for PwD is not fully prepared for the digital transition. We identified the isolation of PwD and the need to provide accessible materials and services online. The combined experience of the partners creates a favorable environment for producing results adapted to the disability sector, benefiting from the sharing of solutions and procedures arising from the different national contexts involved.