In the context of a rapidly changing world, the future of work is an issue drawing the attention of many individuals and organizations. It is a global concern, posing important challenges that need to be addressed urgently. One such challenge is how to ensure that the future of work is inclusive, leaving no one behind, including the one billion persons with disabilities (PwDs) living on our planet. Ensuring an inclusive future of work is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where there is explicit reference to PwDs inclusion in the context of decent work and economic growth. The rights-based approach towards PwDs reflected in the 2030 Agenda is aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The CRPD will continue to provide an important framework for promoting inclusion and equal opportunities for PwDs also in the world of work. This project is intended for adults with disabilities and their support for transition into the labour market from education and training and making employment accessible by providing essential information and guidelines for employers, improving competences of educators and for the persons with disabilities as well. This project also aims to help people with disabilities by creating innovative supporting employment methods and establishing them in the labour market. Additional priorities interconnected with the goal of the project are referring to Extending and developing the competences of educators and other personnel working with adults with disabilities as well as Enhancing access to training and qualifications for all. 

The key objective of this Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership project is to contribute by creating dynamic and inclusive sensitive tools for use across Europe to support unemployed adults with disabilities to be fairly included in the labour market and to ease the transition process of education and training to employment, by:  

  • Creating evidence-based best practices in the area of inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs) into the Labour market 
  • Digitalisation of the inclusion practices for PwDs into the Labour market by creation of accessible OER (Open educational resource); 
  • Creating accessible tool for employment “European passport for employment” of persons with disabilities; 
  • Supporting business sector for employing PwDs by creating special tool for working and engaging with PwDs at the workplace; 
  • Building capacities (competences and skills) of professionals involved in education and training of adults with disabilities;  
  • Foster quality improvements and excellence in innovation at the cross-sectoral level through enhanced transnational cooperation between educational institutions dealing with adult education and business sector (employers). 
  • Promote and strengthen knowledge and acceptance of diversity in society.

Increasing the number of PwDs in the labour market requires a comprehensive approach which this project offers, making use of a wide range of measures. Key among them are collaborating with companies/employers to create more inclusive workplaces, strengthening the vocational and other professional skills of PwDs, upgrading competences of teachers and other professionals involved in education process of PwDs, as well as promoting a conducive policy and legal environment for the wage employment of PwDs. Hence, these three groups will directly benefit from this project: people with disabilities, employers (business sector) and teachers/professionals involved in the education process of PwDs.  

  • PwDs face barriers to inclusion in mainstream society. They are frequently not considered potential members of the workforce. Myths abound, including that persons with disabilities are unable to work and that accommodating a person with a disability in the workplace is expensive. Statistical reports from low, middle, and high income countries show that people with disabilities of working age have much lower rates of employment than people without disabilities. This project is one step towards decreasing negative statistics of unemployment of PwDs and a small contribution for social inclusion. 
  • The socioeconomic part of integration of PwDs (persons with disabilities) that essentially reflects the quality of life of this category of people, where employment occupies an important place, is an indicator of the success of the holistic treatment of PwDs. That is why, the business sector (employers) should know what to expect and how to create an inclusive work environment and to bring down discriminating barriers for PwDs. 
  • Educators, teachers and other professionals involved in educational process of PwDs are facing lack of competences and skills to address educational needs and specifics of PwDs, among which are career guidance and preparation for the world of work and labor. This project is aiming to improve the competences of educational professionals by giving them specific skills that will make the transition from the field of education to the field of labor more successful. Transnational project implementation is vital because of the fact that unemployment of persons with disabilities hits almost every country in the European Union, and this is one of the priorities of the Union integrated in social inclusion practices. Additional, transnational implementation of the project will provide exchange of good practices among the partners, which will lead towards more perceivable, operable and inclusive outputs and cooperation between counties in EU and beyond.

According to the project objectives and planned activities, expected results and outcomes can be categorized as tangible and non-tangible.  

Tangible results are:  

  • On-line open access educational resource (OER) accessible and operable for persons with disabilities intended for PwDs, employers and professionals in the area of teaching and rehabilitating persons with disabilities, that will contain all project tools, materials, guides and good practices developed in the project; 
  • Desk-top research about evidence-based best practices in the area of inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs) into the Labour market; 
  • Mini guide (manual/practicum) for employers about policies, expectations and support for employment of PwDs and their integration in the workplace “How to work with people with disabilities”;  
  • Special flexible and self-advocacy tool for PwDs “European passport to employment” that will help PwDs make effective transition and inclusion into the labour market and workplaces; – New flexible teaching methods and open pedagogy (andragogy) approaches, especially in professional orientation and career counselling and development; 
  • Increased access to e-materials for teaching and employment of PwDs; 
  • Increased transnational cooperation in the field of adult education and training and inclusion of adults with disabilities.  

Non-tangible results are referring to:  

  • Enhancing the transition from education and training to the world of labour for the persons from vulnerable groups (persons with disabilities); 
  • Building professional capacities (competences and skills) of professionals involved in education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities for career guidance and enabling successful preparation for the PwDs on the labour market; 
  • Enhancing emancipation process of PwDs and stimulation to be active participants in the labour market; 
  • Supporting EU and UN policies about employment and active participation of PwDs in all spheres of the society; 
  • Stimulating business sector for employing PwDs by creating accessible and practical guideline; 
  • Greater understanding of diversity in the societies; 
  • Raising awareness about the social inclusion of PwDs; 
  • Creating equal opportunities for PwDs to use the Open educational resource and all educational and career tools developed in the project.