CONVERSION

A PILOT PROJECT TO DEVELOP AND TEST A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMME ON CONVERSION FROM SEGREGATED SETTINGS TO INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

CONVERSION is a project financed under the Leonardo da Vinci programme of the European Commission, DG EAC. This projects started 1^st of October 2005 and finished in on the 30^th September 2007.

Under this different subheadings you can find all the results and products developed during the lifetime of the project having as main topic the transition from specialised to inclusive employment for people with disabilities.

The conversion project is about values based capacity building of staff in the social sector. It aims to address the above-mentioned fundamental problem through

1) a review in three major agencies in France, Ireland and Poland to identify:

• the core challenges in relation to the conversion from segregated employment services to services facilitating inclusive employment in their agency and
• the strengths and opportunities within each individual agency that can be applied towards achieving this new model.

2) a detailed analysis of the process which an agency in Ireland went through to re-orient away from sheltered workshop provision to supported employment programme in the open labour market, to define very clearly the key milestones, hurdles and the critical success factors,

3) an in-depth literature review of policy instruments and practical tools that might support the conversion process focussing in particular on works in the US and Europe.

On the basis of these findings, the conversion project will develop a comprehensive pilot conversion programme that will comprise: 

1) a training package for managers leading the conversion that will be piloted in each of these services, and also reviewed by managers in the service in Ireland;

2) a two day seminar in each of the partner organisations for all staff, on supported employment and the key steps and processes needed to make the conversion from segregated setting to inclusive employment and

3) a learning package for front line staff on supported employment delivery that will be tested by a core group of staff in the three partner organisations.