TARGET GROUP

DAW identifies the following target groups and beneficiaries:

• The Diversity at Work project primarily targets C-VET trainers and teachers, who need constant updating of competences, through new methods and tools to be included in their professional practice, especially related to the development of the employability of the most fragile segments of the population, who most need support to be able to integrate into society, as well as into the world of work: people with cognitive disabilities. In particular, the project targets women over 40, who on the one hand represent the majority of trainers and on the other hand are one of the groups most at risk in terms of employability: the European Commission’s Gender Employment Gap analysis shows that the 3 DAW project partner countries are all below the European average in terms of the number of working women compared to men. The trainers who will participate in the project as recipients are therefore mostly women over 40.

• The secondary target group, i.e. the final recipients of the training, are adults under 40 with cognitive disabilities who are sufficiently functional to work. In addition to this target group, there are also people with mental health problems, who, despite not having cognitive impairments, still have problems finding a job. The reason behind the choice of the final target group stems from the fact that this target group is the one at greatest risk of social exclusion. Once out of school, in fact, this target group has increasing difficulties in finding ways and means of social inclusion, as well as not being able to achieve economic independence. In particular, people with cognitive disabilities need to be able to make the most of their abilities, their independence and self-realisation. For people with mental health problems, the higher degree of self-awareness paradoxically represents a handicap, since these are people who often have a total perception of their own inadequacy to the standard imposed by the current model of productivity and perfection that is relaunched by all the media: for them there is the risk of self-isolation and failure to return to a full and independent type of life.

For both of these target groups, it is necessary to think of sustainable forms of work that favour inclusion.

RESULTS

PORTFOLIO 15 Good Practices (5 from Italy, 5 from Poland, 5 from Spain) for the teaching and assessment of social and behavioural skills, for the employment of people with mental disabilities. These are practices for tutors and trainers for the tutoring, training and assessment of people with mental disabilities in the workplace

TOOLKIT INCLUSIVE COMPETENCES (7 GOOD PRACTICE): These 7 practices will be selected among the 15 Good Practices of the Portfolio and they will constitute the Toolkit.

The development of the Toolkit will substantially contribute to the achievement of the project objectives:

Firstly, it will promote the employability of adults with cognitive disabilities through the acquisition of social skills. The Toolkit aims to improve the socio-communicative skills of the project target group in order to foster their employability. Especially for such a complex target group, the development of social-relational skills is crucial, as being able to create an empathic relationship with others is a fundamental competence for people who, in order to be able to work, must first and foremost be able to be accepted, to build a relationship with others. These are complex competencies, but they can be transmitted with the help of metacognitive methodology and informal training practices, adapted to the target group.

Secondly, the Toolkit will improve the competences of trainers over 40 in the VET-C sector. The activity will provide C-VET and VET trainers with a toolkit of training and evaluation practices useful for their work with the target groups most in need of social inclusion, improving their competences both in metacognitive approach, evaluation and mentoring, as well as in practices related to social inclusion and sustainability, which are topical issues in the VET sector.

Finally, the Toolkit will also support VET-C trainers in a pathway to become Mentors of company tutors in apprenticeship.

INTERNATIONAL WEBINAR: The partners will organize an International Webinar in English to present the Toolkit to the VET trainers
sector. The webinar will be recorded so that it can be sent to more people to maximise impact (more than 40 participants)

TRAINING OF TRAINERS: This activity will constitute in the training of VET and C-VET trainers, tutors and teachers on the Good
Practices in the Toolkit. At least 20 participants per each country, so at least 60 trainers in total will receive the Toolkit.

TRAINING PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE DISABILITIES: The main output developed by the project is the Toolkit of Good Practices to develop competences for work inclusion. This is why it is always used in training as a basis. The same is the case now, in the training of 20 people with cognitive disabilities in each country. They will be introduced to the Toolkit and will be helped to know all these different ways to develop their competences in order to facilitate their access to the labour market or to orientate their professional career.

INTERSHIPS- PILOT TESTING AND MENTORING: For 3 months, 10 people with disabilities in Arezzo (Italy) and 10 in Kielce (Poland) have participated in an internship to help them develop work skills, and give them the opportunity to find a job. Fondazzione Monnalisa and FCLE were in charge of organising these internships by assigning 5 trainers to supervise their work. At the same time, Neotalentway and Skill-up will provide a mentoring service to these trainers and will follow up the internships to see if these trainers have had any problems or need advice. During 12 mentoring sessions the experiences of the traineeships were shared, concluding with very good results, where many people with disabilities will continue working after the end of the traineeship (80% of the trainees in Poland).  

FINAL EVENT IN AREZZO (ITALY): The meeting will take place in Italy, in Arezzo, hosted by the Fondazione Monnalisa, which will also organise the project’s closing event, in which some Polish trainees will also participate.