Introduction

People with disabilities face significant employment barriers, with unemployment durations being 40-50% longer than non-disabled individuals, the project aims to transform this situation by scaling up and transferring socially innovative Supported Employment practices across various EU regions. These practices, proven effective in countries like Austria and Belgium, offer tailored solutions for persons with disabilities, including job coaching, employer training, and continuous support for retention on the labour market. This will ensure capacity building to various stakeholders including employers, local authorities, employment agencies, and service providers for persons with disabilities to ensure long term employment to most vulnerable groups in the labour market. Through its activities, the project supports the European Disability Employment Package and the European Pillar of Social Rights by addressing gaps in employment services and employer engagement.

Aims

The project aims to tackle the persistent issue of long-term unemployment among persons with disabilities in the open labour market. The project will scale up and transfer socially innovative Supported Employment practices across various EU regions, addressing the significant employment barriers persons with disabilities face through immediate job placement and ongoing support.

Target Groups

• Persons with disabilities in long term unemployment
• Service providers for persons with disabilities
• Employers, employment agencies and local employment authorities

Activities

• Country Sheets on long-term unemployment of persons with disabilities
• Local Stakeholder Maps identifying key actors in employment ecosystems
• Country Adaptation & Implementation Strategies for Supported Employment
• Guidelines on subsidies and funding mechanisms for Supported Employment
• Comprehensive Training Materials for practitioners and employers
• Training Programmes for employment services, service providers, and employers
• Employer Engagement Campaigns promoting inclusive hiring practices
• Employment of 130 persons with disabilities through the project pilots
• Webinars with over 200 local authorities and companies on Supported Employment
• Guidelines for companies for transforming HR Policies towards inclusion
• European Recommendations on scaling up Supported Employment

PARTNERSHIP

• European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) – Coordinator
• Association for Supported Employment Europe (ASEE)
• European Platform for Rehabilitation (EPR) 
• Out of The Box International (OTB)
• Association Europeenne pour la Democratie Locale (ALDA)  
• Zero Project (ZP)
• Fundación Intermedia (Intermedia)  
• Gespecialiseerd Team Bemiddeling (GTB)
• Synkroon Alaturi de Voi Romania Foundation (ADV Romania)
• Associazione Italiana Per L’Assistenza Agli Spastici Provincia Di Bologna (AIAS Bologna)
• Ergastiri Eidikis Agogis “MARGARITA” (MARGARITA)
• Zentrum für Sozialwirtschaft GmbH (ZfSW)
• ACT Grupa
• Spanish Supported Employment Association (AESE)  
• FunkWeb Kompetanse (FUNKWEB) 

Duration

1 June 2025 - 31 May 2028

Contact

Nóra Györke, Senior Project Office

Ivana Davidovska, Head of Projects Development

DISCLAIMER

The project is co-funded by the European Social Fund Agency under the programme Innovative Approaches Tackling Long-Term Unemployment (ESF-SI-2024-LTU-01). Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Granting Authority can be held responsible for them.