Vocational training and employment of people with disabilities in Europe – challenges and opportunities

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FROM EDUCATION TO JOB

 Vocational training and employment of people with
disabilities in Europe – challenges and
opportunities

Headmaster Annette Riisager, riisager@tv-glad.dk www.gladfagskole.dk

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TV-GLAD

 TV- Glad began in 1999 as the world’s first tele-
vision station by and for mentally and physically
disabled people, and with the guiding principle of
fostering freedom of expression for everyone. In
2004 Glad Vocational School was established.
 There are 220 employees and students spread over
4 TV-Glad departments in Denmark. Several local
chapters to come. The main branch is located in
Copenhagen and employs approx. 160 people. :
http://www.tv-glad.dk/


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Professional ambition

 We have experienced that development of the
students personal and social skills follow the
gaining of vocational skills
 We have 7 main subjects at Glad vocational School


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DESIGN


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RADIO


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THEATRE


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SERVICE


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TV


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ANIMATION


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KITCHEN


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Café Glad
 The foundation’s newest social enterprise is a designer Café,
that serves up healthy, natural food and where everything
from bread to sauces to desserts is made from scratch.
 Café Glad is staffed by a mixed team of learning disabled
students and non-disabled and disabled professionals. It’s a
regular business that provides the community with a high-
quality product and service, but all the profits go back into
the school.


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Café Glad


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Developing skills

 At Glad Vocational School people with physical and
mental disabilities are trained to do interesting jobs
they are passionate about; jobs that allow them to
express their individuality; jobs in the arts, media,
design and gourmet kitchens.
 Instead of focusing on care, we focus on developing
skills that build self-confidence and create
opportunities.


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Mixed group of students

 One thing Glad students have in common is a
disability that makes learning and working more
challenging. But the similarities end there. Some
are challenged with physical disabilities such as
cerebral palsy, deafness or blindness – Others have
learning disabilities such as autism, ADHD, and
Down’s syndrome.
 The students choose their main subject due to
their interest – not due to their disability.
Headmaster Annette Riisager, riisager@tv-glad.dk
www.gladfagskole.dk

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Learning concept

 High level of expectation for mixed group of
students
 Undogmatic individual diagnostic approach

 The latest research in the specialty area

 Dynamic collaboration between teachers and
administrators
 Documentation of professional, personal and social
progression


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Structure and Curriculum

 We work with 3-year durational curriculums, that
take into account individual learning styles,
background, pace and level etc.
 In addition to the generel curriculums we operate
with the student's individual education plan, that
contains personal, social and professional goals for
training.


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DANISH STU - a legal right

 Our educations are based on Law on Youth
Education for young people with special needs. The
law came into force in 2007.
 It says that young people (16-25 years old) with
learning disabilities, and other young people with
special needs, have a legal right to a three-year-
durational youth education, after they have
completed Secondary school.
 There is no lower limit; all, regardless of disability,
has a legal claim to this education.

Headmaster Annette Riisager, riisager@tv-glad.dk
www.gladfagskole.dk

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Accredited certification

 All our students gain knowledge, skills and
competences on different levels for use in
particular vocations.
 Although they are often well trained and learn how
to do specific tasks during the education, they do
not receive any officially accredited certification of
this, as the training programmes are mostly non-
formal.


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Employment

 In order to facilitate the way to meaningful jobs,
you need a transparent certificate showing
potential employers what a person is able to do - as
a result of their training.
 We wanted to develop a useful certificate, showing
the learning outcome, and therefore Glad
Vocational School participated in the NQF-Inclusive
project 2010-2011.


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NQF Inclusive certificates

 The aim of the NQF- inclusive project was to
develop a model for accreditation and certification
of special training courses, using the European and
National Qualification Frameworks.


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Expanding the Danish NQF
 The final implementation of the Qualifications
Framework in the Danish education system was finished
in autumn 2011.
 In 2012, the qualifications refer to the appropriate level
in the European Qualifications Framework.
 Our aim is to make The NQF – inclusive a part of the
National Qualification Framework in 2013.
 We started cooperation with the municipality of
Copenhagen on implementing the NQF system to
education for young peple with special needs all over
Copenhagen.


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Higher Education and Specialist Training

 We have just been granted financial support from the
Ministry of Education to develop a model of higher education
for disabled students. The students can start on this
education after having graduated from the youth education
for young people with special needs.
 Our model is a vocational education with 5 years duration and
structured with NQF inclusive moduls and certificates, and
enterprise partnerships
 It is a flexible model, with a chance of completion or pause at
1 ½, 2 ½ and 5 years (voucher system).
 Goal: Recruitment / future must be decided within education
completed


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Enterprise Partnerships

Glad Vocational School has been granted financial support
from the Ministry of Employment to start a new project in
2012:
Education for young people with special needs, based on
the law of STU with extended enterprise partnerships
It is based on qualifying extended training periods in
enterprises and a dynamic cooperation between companies
and school on progressive learning
The aim is to creat meaningful jobs and meaningful lives


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 Thank you for your attention!


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