Supporting people with disabilities into employment

1
Supporting people with disabilities into
employment

• Karen Lauwers
• VLAB vzw
• Flemish Federation of Sheltered Workplaces

2
Overview

• Introduction to Belgium
• Employment matters
• Employment for people with disabilities
• Sheltered workplaces in Flanders
• Pilot project Supported Employment 

3
Introduction to Belgium
4
Introduction to Belgium

• Federal state
• 3 regions
• Population 10 million people,
• Active population (15-64) 7 million

5
Employment matters

• Employment is a mixed matter
• Federal authority
• Unemployment benefits
• Working conditions, contract matters
• Concertation
• Regional authority
• Placing coaching of unemployed people
• Vocational training

6
Employment for people with disabilities

• 2006
• Flemish Ministery of Welfare
• Flemish Ministery of Social Economy
• Flemish Minstery of Employment

7
Employment for people with disabilities

• Acknowledgments disability work
• Label for working in sheltered workplace
• Label for support in finding job open labour
  market

8
Employment for people with disabilities

• Different methods regulations
• Sheltered workplace
• Vocational training
• Coaching towards job on open labour market
• Wage subsidies
• Jobcoaching
• Forms of unpaid work

9
Sheltered workplaces in Flanders

• 68 sheltered workplaces in Flanders
• Employment 18500, 15000 people with
  disabilities
• VLAB, Federation of Sheltered Workplaces
• Defend the interests of sheltered workplaces
• Develop exchange information knowledge on
  people with disabilities
• Organise training

10
Sheltered workplaces in Flanders

• Working methods
• Employment in the sheltered workplace
• Enclave model
• Evolutions
• Employment rate of people with disabilities
• People with disabilities in the open labour market

11
Pilot project Supported Employment 

• ESF-project (Dec 2005- March 2008)
• with support of Flemish Gouvernment Labour
  Office
• Promotor VLAB vzw
• 7 sheltered workplaces

12
Basics

• Paid employment
• Empowerment
• Individual placement model
• Integrated worksite
• Ongoing support

13
Organisation of Supported Employment

• Organisation in the sheltered workplace
• Mission statement
• Supported Employment Coaches
• Internal work group
• Information selection of candidates
• Candidates working in the sheltered workplace
• Unemployed candidates with label sw

14
Process of Supported Employment

• Intake
• Assessment
• Jobfinding
• Jobpreparation
• Introduction to the workfloor
• Job placement
• Coaching
• Ongoing support

15
Results of the pilot project

• 100 showed interest in the project
• 50 intake
• 25 started up the process
• 12 actually working on the open labour market

16
Future of Supported Employment

• Publication of book Supported Employment
• Manual
• Recommendations to gouvernment
• (Probably) new ESF project call in October
• (Probably) setting up new regulation