“It is time to put on the public agenda the issue of the introduction of the Supported Employment as a new service for people with disabilities recognized by law. What are the reasons? On one hand, even in pandemic conditions, the crisis within the labour market is a real issue in many economic sectors. More and more companies face difficulties in hiring and retaining staff. On the other hand, many people with disabilities are able and are willing to work, but they do not know how and where to find a job. In this context, the widespread of the Supported Employment is a solution that must be seriously considered, because this model uses a partnership strategy to enable people with disabilities to achieve sustainable long-term employment and to enable companies to hire valuable workers”, said Nicolae Dobrescu, Executive Director of HAO and LEAD Project Manager, at the press conference following the round table “Challenges and perspectives on Supported Employment services for people with disabilities in Romania”.
Journalists, alongside young adults with disabilities, members of their families, employers interested in ensuring an inclusive work environment, representatives of: The Constanta County Recruitment and Employment Agency (AJOFM), General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Constanţa (DGASPC), the Traian Placement Center, the School Center for Inclusive Education Albatros, as well as other non-governmental organizations attended the press conference.
On this occasion, the HAO team provided detailed information about Supported Employment process, explained how to work with young adults with disabilities, their families, and employers, pointed out the opportunities offered by the LEAD project to companies which hire disabled people, as well as the services provided by the HAO team to young jobseekers.
“The model of Supported Employment was born in the USA in the 70’s. It was imported into Europe, initially in the United Kingdom, and then it has expanded in other countries. This is a model that has been working with excellent results for decades. In 2018, HAO started implementing such a model in Romania, within the LEAD project, with the support of Status Employment, our expert partner from United Kingdom. I am happy to say that the Supported Employment has caught on very well, and the figures confirm this statement: all assumed indicators have been exceeded by almost 100%”, pointed out Alina Dobrescu, Coordinator of the Supported Employment Programme.
Representatives of Carrefour, Hervis and Elion shared with the participants their experience regarding the Supported Employment process, from the perspective of the employer which have benefited from these services through the LEAD project. Also, two of our young beneficiaries, Valentin and Ionuţ, talked about how their lives have changed after being employed in catering, respectively in production, through LEAD project.
“The quality of the services provided to our beneficiaries has been and continues to be at the center of our daily activity. We do not seek to have as many beneficiaries as possible enrolled in the project, we work hard every day in order to have young adults well-integrated on the labour market, who keep their jobs for a long time and who live an independent life. At the same time, we develop long-term relationships, based on mutual respect with the employers we work with. Experience shows that the Supported Employment works regardless of the companie’s size, the field of activity, and the disability of the beneficiary who we want to integrate. Only three elements matter: the young adult’s desire to work, the openness and availability of the employer, and the quality of the services offered by the specialists”, explained Alina Dobrescu.
On this occasion, the HAO team pointed out that within LEAD project, young people with disabilities benefit free of charge from: vocational profiling, counselling to develop improved self-confidence, preparing for a job in line with their professional training and interests, in-work and outside work support. Also, recruitment, pre-screening, training and support services at the workplace are provided free of charge for companies which use our supported employment program.Moreover, our specialists stay in touch with the employer in order to identify the problems which appear during the integration process and to solve them. Additionally, they work with the team members of whom the beneficiaries are part, in order to help them communicate effectively with them.
The project “Labour market Employment for young Adults with a Disability – LEAD” is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.
