In the EU on average 47% of people with disabilities are employed and only 28% of people with severe disabilities are employed, vs. 67% for non-disabled people (ANED, 2013). Socioeconomic participation must increase and more people should join the labour market, with less money in social aid. Getting the same chances for people with a labour disability, is not very common, this target group is easily pushed aside. It needs more focused and structured support than other groups.

In many countries, organisations need to comply with established quotas and must employ people with a disability. Next to that, the Council of Europe created an Action Plan (2006-2015) to promote the rights and participation of people with disabilities in society. The EU has adopted the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020. But people with disabilities still face many difficulties in finding jobs, due to negative stereotypes, which make the labour market reluctant in employing such people.

In the Skills+ project partners work together for people with a distance to the labour market and society. People with a work disability is such a target group and that is where we stand for.

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Project Impact

The focus is on work based learning; This includes workplace experience for the participants as for example the training on hard skills like knowledge on the job as well as soft skills like teamwork, flexibility, stress reliance, creativity etc. in the participating countries. So, the people with a labour disability will no longer be judged on their disability but on their competences. The main purpose is to increase the employability of this target group by a smoother and effective move to work transition. Again, this connects to the broader European mission, that inclusion and diversity are milestones of an advanced and fair society.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme under project number: 2023-1-NL01-KA220-ADU-000156772