Guide of Good Practice in employment of the young adults with disabilities, developed within LEAD project

Credits: LEAD

Employers from Romania, Lithuania and Portugal now benefit from a Guide of Good Practice for the employment of young adults with disabilities (both electronic, and printed), developed by specialists of the Health Action Overseas Foundation (Romania), Valakupiai Rehabilitation Center (Lithuania), Consultis – Consultoria Empresarial Unipessoal Lda. (Portugal), and Status Employment, as Expert Partner, within the LEAD project.

“We hope this Guide responds to the interest of companies wishing to embrace diverse workforces, while inspiring more employers to take the necessary steps to create more inclusive workplaces, to give them greater confidence when engaging or employing young adults across a diverse spectrum of disability”, pointed out Nicolae Dobrescu, Manager of LEAD Project and Executive Director of HAO.

Structured in an accessible and approachable manner, the Guide is a good working tool for employers, providing the information needed in order to increase their understanding of disability issures and enable them to attract, recruit and retain young adults with disabilities.

The main purpose of this Guide is to provide advice and guidance to employers in order to to enable them to effectively support employees with disabilities to ensure they contribute to the success of the business. The Guide also offers useful information about the legal framework when employing young adults with disabilities.

Module 1 sets out the advantages which employers enjoy when they hire young adults with disabilities: improved productivity and retention, a new perspective on the company’s activities, an enhanced reputation among customers and suppliers, employees’ development, increased profit and profitability. The module also emphasises relevant aspects of national disability legislation, as well as the steps employers should take when they decide to employ young adults with disabilities. Additionally, it explores various ways in which employers can help prepare young adults with disabilities for work, from bringing them into their organisations by engaging with schools, to offering work experience opportunities and creating new employment access routes.

Module 2 aims to raise awareness about general issues concerning disability in the workplace and provides information, ideas, examples and suggestions on how existing systems and structures at work can be adapted. It covers practical steps in employment and retention of young adults with disabilities from how to make recruitment practices more friendly; how to approach an interview with a young person with disabilities, and various methods for solving common problems that may occur in the integration process (including conflicts, rejection by the team, differential treatment, etc.). This module presents examples of reasonable workplace adjustment for people with various disabilities: mental health conditions, hearing, visual and physical impairments, autistic spectrum conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning / intellectual disabilities, and epilepsy. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Supported Employment specialist in supporting the employer to bring about a successful and diverse workforce.

Module 3 outlines some of the successful cases the LEAD project has had in this respect. A collection of case studies, practical examples from companies from Romania, Lithuania, Portugal, and UK already reaping the benefits of having disabled people in the workforce and actively supporting their staff. We are also pleased to present public entities from Portugal and Lithuania that have chosen to give a chance to young adults with disabilities. These employers emphasise, in a large majority of cases, that the advantages of hiring this segment of society goes far beyond the good image and reputation that an inclusive company projects in the community in which it operates.

The examples included in this Guide illustrate how good practice and support can lead to good results for both the disabled and the employer and they are meant to inspire as many companies as possible to take steps in creating jobs for people with disabilities.

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