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Description
In 2018, there were almost 240,000 recipients of disability pensions in Slovakia and approximately 6,000 jobseekers had the status of a person with a disability. While in 2015 the employment rate of the healthy population was 67.7%, only 16.6% of people with disabilities had employment. Especially when setting up services, people with disabilities without official disability status are overlooked, who cannot benefit from current policies (disability pensions, sheltered workshops).The aim of the project is to support a more systematic cooperation in the employment of persons with disabilities between 4 types of organizations (state administration, NGOs, trade unions, employers). An analysis of legislation and implementation practice of persons with disabilities will be conducted and their labor integration through concrete steps will be prepared (including people after treatment of civilization diseases, people with disabilities, people of Roma origin and homeless) in Slovakia and Norway. This will served to strengthen the cooperation between these actors in Slovakia and better policy setting in the future. Comparative study and policy briefs will be prepared for relevant stakeholders. The project and its results is aiming to people with multiple disadvantages facing specific barriers, in particular (a) Roma whose poor standard of living is reflected in their above-average poor health; as well as (b) homeless persons who, as a result of loss of housing, fall into morbidity as well as mental illness. These groups of people form a large but poorly mapped and disorganized group in the labor market, where only a small part has access to quality services, targeted information, to the collective representation of their interests and to building a strong collective identity.
Summary of project results
The project responded to the lack of information and data on the integration of peolúpe with disabilities from the perspective of key actors (trade unions, employers, government and NGOs) and helped to network and work more closely together. Research in Slovakia and Norway has shown that successful people with disabilitieas integration models are based on close cooperation between the four types of organizations mentioned above. The project was also beneficial in terms of bringing new perspectives for people with disabilities work integration, based on the Norwegian model and European practice (eg broader definition of people with disabilities, the principle of "first place, then train", emphasis on cooperation with employers and unions in the integration process, emphasis on rehabilitation). The project gathered experience and knowledge from a total of 35 actors and 47 actors were networked at round tables. The result is a detailed mapping of legislation, implementation practices and cooperation between actors in the integration of people with disabilities. Based on the experience of Slovak actors, mapping the Norwegian model, it was possible to formulate recommendations for the creation of public policies to improve the tools of integration of people with disabilities in Slovakia.
Summary of bilateral results
The main results of the cooperation were the sharing of expertise, cooperation in setting the methodology for research in Slovakia and the organization of an international webinar, which linked the results from Slovakia and Norway to the European level.The common outputs of the cooperation are specifically (1) Comparative study; (2) Webinar; (3) The study "An overview of work inclusion policies and practices for people with adverse health conditions in Norway", which was translated into Slovak to make it more accessible to actors in Slovakia. The contribution of the partner from the donor country, the University of South-Eastern Norway, consisted mainly in providing expertise on the integration of people with disabilities. The expertise was based on research findings on the Norwegian integration model, which is based on the following principles: (1) shows intensified cooperation between rehabilitation institutions, employers and trade unions; (2) is based on a broader definition of people with disabilities; (3) applies the principle of "First place, then train", which proves to be more effective than the opposite strategy applied in Slovakia "train and then place". These findings are beneficial for the Slovak model of integration.The CELSI team continues to work with the USN, which in early January 2021 submitted the LAMYDIS project under the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment grant scheme on the integration of young people with disabilities.