The project aims to create better opportunities for workplaces to include our students and recognize the value they bring to the labour market. We aim to workplaces’ awareness of the benefits of diversity while helping students develop personal and professional skills, that strengths their future employability and ensuring that they contribute to society and thereby counteract the risks of social isolation. Key objectives also include enhancing collaboration between STU and Luovi, promoting smooth transitions to working life, and sharing good practices to improve vocational education. This both between organizations and within own organization, while creating attention on the need. We also aimed to embrace a common European identity by exposing students to new cultures and societies to support an intercultural understanding. The project also focused on building professional and personal competences, developing methods for effective collaboration between the workplaces, education and students, and engaging with various employers to enrich the labour market. Through these efforts, we worked towards an inclusive, diverse, and sustainable labour market where young people with special abilities can contribute in their own way.
We applied for this project because the labour market needs more workers, and this challenge calls for new and inclusive approaches. Our aim has been to provide practical guidance during key transitions so that young people with special needs receive the support required to develop a clear work identity. Employers play a crucial part by offering internships that strengthen the students’ abilities and improve their chances of entering and staying in employment. By offering structured and personal guidance, we help both workplaces and students approach the shift from education to work with confidence. The creation of a handbook and the development of tailored internships have therefore been essential elements. A central priority has been to identify tasks that match each student’s strengths. This targeted approach allows them to contribute meaningfully at a level they can manage independently, while also freeing time for other staff. Our overall vision is to contribute to a more inclusive labour market where diversity is actively practiced, barriers are reduced, and young people with special needs are able to find dignity, purpose, and real opportunities.