Portugal
Training and employment providers
In Portugal there are about 50 welfare co-operatives (CERCI’s), which offer different services to people with intellectual disabilities. The information for this article was provided by ten such cooperatives all over Portugal. One of their main activities is to provide vocational training to people across disability.
The co-operatives aim at improving the social integration of people with disabilities and/or serious social adaptation problems who are at risk of being excluded. They offer a range of activities: early intervention, special education, vocational training, occupational therapy, sheltered employment, supported living, physical rehabilitation, etc… They also run family advice centres, day care centres, residential services, and centres for support at home.
The vocational training encompasses the whole spectre of actions: support, training, placement, and follow-along services. It targets people with an intellectual disability, muscular and skeleton deficiencies, multiple disabilities, behavioural problems, mental health users, slow learners, etc…
Clients find their way to the co-operatives through local social security services, schools and employment centres. In many cases family, friends, doctors or therapists refer them to the co-operatives.
How do services assess people's strengths and interests?
When clients enter the vocational training centre it is important to know their previous experiences as well as their expectations. In a first phase, psychological tests are taken as well as interviews, to get to know the motivation of the client, their skills and competences, their ideas regarding possible jobs or occupations, and the family situation. This leads to a personalised integrated profile, which includes personal, school, functional and social competences. Based on this personal profile the professional interests are established (kind of tasks, area of activity) and put down in a vocational profile.
During the training the execution of and motivation for the tasks, as well as the skills and competences are evaluated regularly, by both trainers and clients. Placements should be evaluated regularly, as well, on the job with the employer.
The role of the families is important, too, as they should provide continuous feedback to the team of social workers throughout the entire training period.
How to train key employment and social skills?
Skills are trained in both training centres and in real life situations, either on an individual basis or in group. At vocational training centres people learn the different techniques and the attitudes that are needed to execute a given job. The training focuses on understanding the tasks, executing them and keeping up a certain work rhythm. Where necessary, people get specific individual training to improve their personal and social skills. The work conditions in training centres should be similar to those in a real company.
Learning by doing is key to acquiring employment skills, hence the importance of training on the job in a company. At all times, however, one should make sure to explain the different tasks carefully and repeatedly, using simple language and respecting the rhytm of the trainee.
The expectations of the trainee should be respected and he/she should be involved in each decision taken during the entire training process.
The social skills are trained mainly in real life situations – visiting public places, using public transport, going to restaurants, etc… - in order to increase their autonomy and personal independence. Training centres often organise excursions for their clients or attend sports or cultural events. They also accompany their clients to selection interviews.
In order to promote active participation, communication and group interaction, trainees have regular meetings with one another to exchange experience.
The family is involved in the entire training process as they play a key role in nurturing the autonomy of the trainees.
How to find a job for people with intellectual disabilities?
The most effective way to find a job for people with intellectual disabilities is to organise a placement in a company at the end of the training period. In this way both worker and employer get to know each other. The worker gets a lot of relevant experience and the employer gets an idea about the capacity and personality of the worker.
In order to obtain a placement or find a job with a company the training centres have to know the local labour market situation and prospect the local companies: raising awareness among employers, visiting companies, inviting employers to visit the training centres, demonstrating training centre activities at fairs and exhibitions, showing models of good practice, etc.. Regular contacts to the labour office are necessary to find out about possible vacancies.
The disabled trainee/jobseeker must receive from the training centres the necessary preparation to perform well during the placement or job: not only vocational skills, but also motivation, interest and punctuality.
The support in the company depends on the individual needs of both worker and employer. An individual support plan should be made. In order to reduce possible problems afterwards, training centres inform the future colleagues on the work floor about the situation of the worker and his/her particular skills. Good contacts with the training manager in companies are important. Regular visits by the support team to the company and a hotline for companies in case of problems are two ways to assure continued support.
An issue that needs to be considered right from the start is transport to and from work. It can become a major problem, even leading to workers not taking on a job. If necessary all stakeholders – families, friends, service providers, employers, public transport companies - need to be addressed to come to a reasonable solution.
Employer concerns…and how to overcome these
Employers often doubt whether the person with intellectual disabilities is sufficiently productive. The possibility of a vocational training on the job before the employment contract starts allows employers to get to know the capacities of the person and to give up their initial biases and negative expectations.
Most employers are not knowledgeable about disability and are therefore afraid of disability and the behavioural problems that might come with it. Providing information on the specific situation of the trainee/worker, as well as organising training periods on the job without further commitment from the employers, will take away these fears.
Employers wonder what the benefits will be for them, what it costs to hire a disabled worker, and whether they will not get in trouble by hiring a disabled person. It is therefore very important to provide reliable and correct information, highlighting both positive and negative elements, in order not to disappoint employers afterwards.
Employers want to know who will support them in solving problematic situations in future. It is necessary for the service providers to propose concrete support measures: who will be the support workers, which type of support can be provided, how to stay in contact, etc…
Finally, employers are afraid that the placement/job will not succeed. It is the task of service providers to inform employers that there are no strict obligations on this issue, but that like anyone else in society, companies have social duties and should strive to achieve a successful integration of the worker in the company.
Such negative outcomes can be avoided to a certain extent by providing lots of information to the employer on the situation of the trainee/worker and on the kind of encouraging and motivating support that people with intellectual disabilities, just like any other person, need to feel good and work hard in a job. A lot of problems, moreover, can be spotted and remedied early when service providers also assure the support after the worker has been hired. The presence of a company mentor, who - if necessary - is trained by the service provider and who is the intermediary between the worker, the colleagues, the employer and the support team, can have a very positive impact on the work and the atmosphere in the company.
Staff skills
Staff at vocational training centres should have good social, technical and communication skills. They should be available and dispose of considerable energy and willpower. They need to know the local labour market situation, the different types of companies and their culture, the different work processes and the possible risks involved, and the assessment criteria that are important for hiring new workers. They should also know about the legislation and the existing subsidies in order to advice employers correctly about the opportunities to hire a disabled person. They should dispose of good social mediation skills in order to intervene and negotiate with all stakeholders. In fact they need to consider the entire training and employment process from two different angles at the same time as they are serving two masters, the employer and the worker.
In order to form staff combining the different above-mentioned skills and competences, an all-encompassing curriculum should be developed. For the moment there are courses to qualify as social workers and there are individual seminars to gain very specific know how, but there is no all-encompassing training model that takes into account the elements of personal and social development, participative methodologies, motivation techniques, assessment models, and individualised training. The training should be very practice oriented and include information on the features of disability, behavioural problems and how to contain them, personal motivation, group dynamics, sexuality of disabled people, innovative methods, quality assurance, labour market cycles, communication and information, social marketing, social mediation, labour law, negotiation strategies, safety, problem solving and conflict resolution, job analysis and task definition, etc…
Legal and Financial instruments
The vocational training centres have good contacts to the Instituto de Emprego e Formaçao Profissional (IEFP, Institute of Labour and Vocational Training), which finances the training initiatives, including the structural costs of the vocational training centres. The regular meetings lead to more effective handling of different issues, like the selection of people to be trained and the training of support workers.
There are also regular contacts to the National Secretariat for the Rehabilitation and Integration of People with Disabilities, which provide information and support on certain measures, and subsidise additional activities.
There are frequent and personalised contacts with different local authorities, which are strong partners in the process of social and professional integration of disabled people.
The Laws n° 242/88 and 247/89 create the framework for vocational training and provide technical and financial support to pre-vocational training, vocational orientation and training, adaptations at work, employment on the open labour market, sheltered work and self-employed business starters.
The Laws n° 40/83, 37/85 and 194/85 regulate the sheltered workshop structures and allow people with severe disabilities to work and earn an income.
The Laws n° 99/90 and 29/01 regulate the wage subsidy for companies to offset production loss and install a quota system in public services.
The Law n° 18/2002 allows disabled people, who went out of disability pension to follow vocational training programme or get a remunerated job, to benefit again from this disability pension in case the training or job failed.
The European Social Fund, through the Ministry of Social security and employment, provides financial support for most of the programmes run by vocational training centres. Without these funds it would be impossible to function properly. These subsidies allow people with disabilities to have access to vocational training, to retain their job and to be included in society. Unfortunately it is very bureaucratic and creates a situation of financial dependency.
System Changes
Service providers would like to see a change in the way the financing system is organised. They would prefer to have clear arrangements put down in a strategic plan stipulating the subsidies for a number of years. For the moment they depend on the yearly approval of their applications, which brings great insecurity to the centres and their staff. The financing criteria, moreover, should take into account the specific features of the target groups and the regions where activities are undertaken. They also suggest financing networks instead of individual centres in order to optimise the available support and the financial means. Finally they would like to see changes in the way their costs are being reimbursed – upon application with proof of expenditure - because they cannot advance all that money.
Although there is legislation to protect workers from losing out on all benefits, the benefits trap is still open. People with intellectual disabilities and their parents are often in doubt whether or not to go for a training and a job because they are not sure that the job will be successful and are afraid not to get their disability pension. Moreover, it is impossible to combine – even within reasonable limits - social or disability pensions with money earned through work. Subsidies are not always paid equitably and in line with the needs. Finally, a majority of people get used to depending on subsidies and do not do the effort to find a job.
Service providers also suggest revising the system of incentives for companies that hire disabled people. For the moment, many companies do not train disabled people because it takes too much paperwork to apply for the incentives. The support for employers to hire disabled people should therefore be more individualised, and the level and duration of the financial support should be in line with the specific difficulties of each employee. Finally, the labour contracts should be more flexible, which means that the company can decide on the level of the salary in relation to the productivity of the worker. The worker, in turn, should be protected by other financial means in order to retain a decent income.
Case Study: Pedro, CECD (education centre for people with disabilities) in Mira Sintra
Pedro was referred to CECD through the teachers at his primary school, where he followed an adapted curriculum. He often had crises, of which the origins (epilepsy, fear) were unclear. During the first regular admission assessment Pedro showed interest in a gardening course. A special individual training plan was drafted that paid particular attention to the development of the acquired professional skills, his behaviour, the social skills and schooling needed for executing the tasks, therapy and other complementary support.
During the training it became clear that Pedro was not entirely happy with the gardening course. He was good at it and got more self-confidence, but he preferred to work in a home for elderly people.
CECD looked for a training opportunity nearby but for one year was not able to clinch a deal with the local home for the elderly. At some point CECD found a professional training place in a day-centre for the elderly. Pedro started the professional placement and eventually got a contract. He now assists in the dining room and in all other activities of the day-centre.
The support service of the day-centre supported Pedro where necessary and followed up his progress by holding discussions, developing the training curriculum, identifying transport, looking for relevant tasks. During the training a register was kept on his punctuality, the executed tasks, his progress in terms of professional and social skills. Moreover, theoretical and practical tests were taken, there was medical and technical counselling, and last but not least a lot of meetings were held with Pedro.
Pedro now has a salary, manages his own money and wants to buy a house some time in future. He is integrated in the day-centre and followed a course on ethics with his colleagues. He uses public transport to go to work. Pedro basically can do what he wants to do, and is supported in this by his family.
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