The main objective of the project is to establish an educational platform which provides theoretical and practical training for physically disabled people in designing/manufacturing/testing/selecting/repairing of supporting equipment such as wheelchair, prosthesis, elevators, etc.
More information can be found on the project website.
The idea of ESTEEM project is to return learners, people from minority ethnic groups, unemployed people and others who experience social and economic disadvantage. These people are often marginalised in their access to training and employment. And there is usually a mismatch between their needs and requirements and the provision of education and training for employment.
In this respect Lifelong learning provides opportunities for more people to obtain the skills and qualifications they need to enter the labour market. The key to successful engagement with this process is the ability to get into employment. However, certain groups are less able to do this, because of economic disadvantage, structural barriers to their participation, limited educational experience, ethnocentric attitudes and cultural insensitivity. The ESTEEM project is aimed at empowering these groups by helping them take more control of the development of their learning.
more information can be found on the project website.
Validating Mentoring 2 project will support the needs of disabled people and others disadvantaged in the job market by developing systems for the recognition of their non-formal and informal learning. This is particularly important for a group that, compared to its peers, lacks formal qualifications with the consequent effects upon their employability. It will do this by establishing new mentoring programmes in 3 countries for disabled people, older people and young people at risk and it will transfer to them the principles and practices of effective, high quality, mentoring and validation, based on the Code of Practice for Mentoring developed the first Validation of Mentoring project BG/05/C/F/TH- 83 300 (www.mentoring-validation.org). In support for the transfer, it will develop and evaluate comprehensive systems for the self-assessment of mentoring programmes. The principles and practices developed will be potentially transferable to other areas of informal and non-formal learning.
This project focuses on the needs of disabled and other disadvantaged people – who gain particular benefits from the non-formal nature of mentoring. It is particularly useful for people who lack work-experience and who have not had the opportunity to develop their full skills and competences, as is often the case with disabled and other disadvantaged people.
The development of a validation system for mentoring will be a major advance and is based on the project team’s extensive experience in this field, which enables it to draw upon best practice from across Europe in all aspects of its work. Without authoritative validation those who participate in mentoring (both mentors and mentees) are denied legitimate acknowledgment of their achievements, and employers cannot properly judge the qualities of staff and potential recruits.
The project is a direct expression of the principles of the Copenhagen Agreement and complements the range of community initiatives that seek to ensure that the benefits of informal and non-formal learning are fully realised as a part of VET.
More information can be found at the project website.
The Social Employers Network (SEN) is a network set up to encourage, consult and support employers in recruitment and retainment of any kind of disadvantaged or disabled workers. SEN is EU wide network with founding members organizations from Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and UK which has been together since September 2007. Membership is open to all kinds of employers who share positive attitude towards people with disabilities and disadvantaged.
