Integration firms

The goal of Integration Firms was to open labour market to people with disabilities. The whole partnership consisted of 4 modules (Clarification & Qualification, New Formings of Sheltered Work, Integration Firms, Competence Network: Evaluation). The first module concentrated especially on qualification of participants in different working areas. Participants stayed at least 4 and at maximum 12 months in module 1. After qualification they had the possibility to switch to module 2 or 3, to open labour market or to other measures. Employees of module 2 especially worked towards new ways of supported work. Job coaches arranged co-operations with firms with simultaneous consideration of participants' interests. People with disabilities had the possibility to do practical there and to improve their vocational abilities. Employers experienced it as an advantage to "test" the trainees' abilities and later-on to decide on an employment as usual employees, if participants really fit to the enterprise. Work in module 3 was concentrated on the establishment of Integration Firms, engaging at least one third employees with disabilities coming from the pool of module 1 and 2. Integration firms which still exists are traditional economical-oriented and act at the open labour market. Module 4 was about an accompanying evaluation of the whole project, proposals how to improve developed ways of vocational integration and benchmark with projects of transnational partners.