Type of Project: Funded project
Model Project: Education in the Work Area - Lifelong Learning in the Saxon WfbM (LiAB)

"Education plays a decisive role in determining people's chances of developing their individual abilities, achieving their job goals, and participating in and shaping society." (Die Bundesregierung, 2016: Deutsche Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie). In order to increase the chances of employment for people with disabilities in a job that is subject to social insurance contributions, further (advanced) training measures and qualifications are mandatory after the two years of the vocational training area of the workshops, i.e. lifelong in the work area. Education is the key to success and after the successful establishment of PRAXISBAUSTEIN in Saxony, our employees in the workshops rightly expressed the wish to receive similar certified offers in the work area. The project is intended to take this wish into account and was supported from the beginning by the Free State of Saxony, specifically the Ministry of Social Affairs, both in terms of content and with funding through the Directive on Participation. 1. Project goal Education in the work area of Saxon workshops is currently offered individually and in rather small formats (e.g. information events). The workshops themselves lack the personnel and financial resources and structures or binding framework conditions to offer employees qualified and certified training or continuing education. In addition, it remains open to what extent offers lead to certified certificates that are also relevant for an employer on the general labor market, i.e. go beyond an in-house certificate of participation. The aim of the present project is to investigate in what form certified training offers with lasting quality, which also have a connectivity to existing chamber training, can be implemented or offered in all Saxon workshops for people with disabilities. This is to be reached among other things by the partial goal of an action recommendation as result. In sum, the project pursues the goal of taking a step further on the path to implementing the UNCRPD and improving the opportunities for participation in working life, both in the workshops and for transfer to employment subject to social insurance contributions. 2. Implementation/measures/procedure In order to achieve the project goal, it is necessary in the first step that existing offers (inside and outside the workshops) are recorded, evaluated and evaluated. Since the general market for vocational training and continuing education is very large, it must be narrowed down to the fields that are relevant for workshops. In addition, important, necessary and market-relevant contents must be identified. The second step is to clarify which measures are possible or can be implemented in the workshops. For this purpose, workshops in Saxony will be integrated into the project as pilot workshops. Care will be taken to ensure that the workshops diverge in their structure (number of employees, (no) application of the practical module in the vocational training area, ...) in order to guarantee a later adaptation of the educational measures in all Saxon workshops. The project will be accompanied by an advisory board consisting of important partners (including the chambers) in order to ensure the quality of the offers from the beginning and to clarify the corresponding prerequisites for this. In cooperation between the LAG as the project sponsor and the League, the League of Independent Welfare Organizations in Saxony will chair this advisory board. A permanent seat on the advisory board will be allocated to the spokesperson council of the workshop councils in Saxony, as a representation of the interests of the target group. Another important quality feature of the planned project is scientific support. This will provide independent (neutral) answers to questions about sustainability, efficiency, effectiveness and costs.