COUNTRY: Germany
CLIENT: Regional Employment Agency (REA)
PROJECT DURATION: 14.09.2009 – 31.07.2015
OVERALL PROJECT VALUE:  2,050,660.00 €      

Background

Participation in the labour market is an important step for people with disability towards economic and social inclusion. Unemployment often leads to isolation which is particularly threatening people with mental, physical and emotional disabilities. The unemployment rate of people with disability is disproportionally high.

Objective

Supported Employment is a social protection measure focusing on labour market services and aiming at employment of persons with disabilities. It gears towards, on the one hand, employers, employees and labour union representatives to create an understanding for requirements of people with special needs, and on the other hand, persons with disabilities that have a good potential to be employed on the regular labour market.

The measure offers job related assistance for the following target groups:

• persons with learning disability on the limits of mental disability;
• persons with mental disability on the limits of learning disability, and
• persons with psychological disability and/or behavioral disorders

Type of Services Provided

• Technical support to the client on the implementation of the measure;
• Consulting services and advice to the client on social protection policies, in close consultation and cooperation with the responsible public authorities
• Employment services and social assistance to vulnerable groups:
     -Knowledge transfer related to key qualifications required for the employment opportunity;
     -Job application training;
     -Job acquisition;
     -In-company vocational training according job requirements and based on individual abilities;
• Career counselling;
• Consultancy for employers, employees and in-house stakeholders in order to build capacities dealing with people with special needs;
• Transfer to follow-up schemes;
• Institutional capacity building;
• Quality management according EFQM standards.