Includ-ed, red europea de educación inclusiva

Summary

The TRA¡NSITION! partnership aimed at transferring the European model of good practice Clearing to five European partner countries Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Czech Republic.

The quality of the transition from school to work and the successful intervention by professionals can be regarded as crucial for the further labour market performance of young persons with a disability.

The main objective of the project tra¡nsition! was to develop and disseminate a Curriculum for the training and further education of trainsition trainers which is based on the specific needs of the target groups and the social and political contexts in the partner countries.

Project object:

Besides the elaboration of the curriculum and the implementation of the training, the project tra¡nsition! partnership further aimed:

• > to transfer the Austrian innovative model of good practice “Clearing” to new Member Countries
• > to set a joint standard of training by involving European experts & service providers external to the project during the extensive test phase
• > to learn from each other by comparing strategies and models
• > to develop and improve methods of transition for young people with disabilities
• > to strengthen and further develop the job profile of transition trainers
• > to raise awareness for the importance of the transition period which is crucial for the employability of young people with a disability
• > to create a network of service providers who are interested and active in training and further educating transition trainers

Methodology

During the 1st project-year high Level Transfer Workshops and plattform-meetings of the National Transfer Committee in each of the countries involved guaranteed for an effective transfer of knowledge & ideas.

We jointly developed a Curriculum for the training and further education of transition facilitators. A high level of participated), an external evaluation process by professionals in the field and a Train the Trainer-Seminar based on a Curriculum for the training and further education of transition facilitators.

The results were made available in English & the languages of the participating countries by an interactive CD-Rom.

Target

Trainsition trainers , service providers, professionals and other interested persons

The target group of the developed TRAINSITION PACKAGEis juveniles especially at the transition from school to work at the age from 13 to 24 years. To get the service these juveniles should have special needs:

• > learning disabilities (special school curriculum) and Intellectual/cognitive disabilities
• > physically handicaps and multiple disabilities
• > hearing and/or vision impairment
• > social needs, emotionally disturbed and behavioral disorders

> mental illness and autism

Good practice innovations

A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR AN EXCLUDED GROUP

The specific approach of the project – an active partnership of innovative educational organisations & service providers, the responsible public authorities in the respective countries (e.g. Social Ministries), experienced trainers for the Pilot Training & well-known European experts in the field of vocational integration of people with a disability – has not only secured the quality of the curriculum but also raised awareness for the importance of the interface between school and work, strengthen and further develop the job profile of transition trainers, support the development of a joint standard of training and further develop and improve methods of transition from school to work for young people with a disability. Transferability and sustainability of the products and results (e.g. Curriculum, CD-Rom, National Transfer Committee, Website, Conference) were important from the beginning (e.g. extensive development and testing phase, Transfer Workshops).

Good practice achievements

THE TRAINSITION PACKAGE

The gap between school and work has been identified as one of the key problems for young disabled persons affecting the possibility of gaining access to jobs and keeping them. Thus, in a growing number of European Member States, counselling services are offered to disabled school leavers to signpost them to the most appropriate employment, apprenticeship or training measure.

To guarantee that the transition trainers – the persons working in the counselling service and giving advice to the young people – are not only willing, but also able to cope with all the needs of the clients and that they know about all the pros and cons of the broad variety of different measures available – the TRA¡NSITION! Package has been developed.

Based on the Austrian innovative model of good practice „Clearing“ and the experiences made during a Pilot Training, the TRA¡NSITION! Package involves

• > Basic information about the transition service (aims, target group, methods,...) (http://www.trainsition.net/trainsitionCD/EN/basicInfo.html)
• > Detailed information on 8 modules of the TRA¡NSITION! Curriculum (http://www.trainsition.net/trainsitionCD/EN/modulesIndex.html)

--> MODULE 1 - 8:  Background of Transition Work, Partnership with schools, Teaching Methods, Counselling Techniques, Assessment of Competences, Individualised Transition Planning, Work practice & Partnership with Employers, Managing the Transition Process

• > Case studies (http://www.trainsition.net/trainsitionCD/EN/caseStudies.html)
• > The Transition-portfolio – material, which might be used to work with the student (http://www.trainsition.net/trainsitionCD/EN/trainsitionPortfolio.html)
•  

The Full-Version of the TRA¡NSITION! Package is available in English. In order to enable as many professionals and other interested persons as possible to access the results of the project, basic information about the transition service and the description of the modules have been translated into 6 languages (Czech, English, German, Hungarian, Slovenian, Slovak).

Project partners and other stakeholders

The TRA¡NSITION! partnership aimed at transferring the European model of good practice Clearing to our partner countries Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Czech Republic.
 
Our leading national partners were:
Austria: Caritas Viena, DABEI – Dachverband berufliche Integration Austria, Austrian Association for Supported Employment
Czech Republic: Rytmus, Quip – Association for Change, Asistence
Hungary: Hand in Hand Foundation, Symbiosis Foundation
Slovenia: Racio, Social Work Advisory Board (SWAB)
Slovakia: Perspectiva, Institute for Rehabilitation, Republic of Slovenia
 
Supporting Partners:
Austria Federal Ministry of Social Affairs and Consumer Protection; Federal Office for Social Assistence; Lower Austria, Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS); Czech Republic Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport; Hungary Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Department of Disability Affairs & Rehabilitation; Slovenia National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia; Slovakia Labour Market, Social Affairs and Family Office (Martin)
 
In each of the participating countries, the network of partners consisted of the following members:
 
Service providers for people with a disability:Their active participation in the developing of the Curriculum and transfer of knowledge at national level enabled them to establish themselves both as providers of services and training providers in their respective regions.
 
Educational institutions:Organisations with a professional background in qualification measures for professionals working in counselling services for people with disabilities were responsible for the development of the curriculum and the transfer of knowledge at regional and national level.
 
Public authorities:As prospective financiers of the service structures, responsible government officials were involved actively in the elaboration of the Curriculum. Furthermore, they helped to identify and define the existing framework conditions at political level in the respective countries and in this way guarantee transferability and sustainability of the product and results.