UBITED members and volunteers visited educational institutions in Sakarya city on 2nd April 2017.
They informed teachers and managers about the project.
Visited institutions are:
Serdivan Guidance and research center (RAM)
Sakarya Autistic Children’s Training Center (OÇEM)
Canada Special Education Primary & Secondary School

Coach@Work Project Team participated 10th Job Fair in Pendik district.
There were 25 companies represented by HR teams to meet with potential employees. More than 1000 employees registered and visited the stands of the companies.
Ubited Team informed HR representatives of the companies and showed Coach@Work e-learning platform them to register and follow the free training activities.

Employment of people with disabilities: challenges and solutions

International Conference

(Final multiplier event of the COACH@WORK project)

6 July 2017, Burgas, Bulgaria

Expo Center Flora, Conference hall №2

6th July 2017
09:30 – 10:30	Registration of the participants Press conference
10:30 – 10:40	Official opening of the conference and welcome speech of the Deputy Mayor of Burgas Dr. Loris Manuelyan
10:40 – 10:50	Welcome speech by Coach@Work project coordinator Zgura – M	Maria Goranova General manager, Zgura – M ltd. Bulgaria
10:50 – 11:00	Welcome speech by prof. Rumen Stamatov	Prof. Rumen Stamatov Chairperson of NARHU – Bulgaria Umbrella organisation PwDs
11:00 – 11:20	Coach@Work project – presentation of all results and outcomes achieved	Petya Grudeva Project manager, Zgura – M ltd. Bulgaria A. Lazarov Project manager, Interprojects ltd. Bulgaria
I  PANEL SESSION: “Supported employment model in Europe”
11:20 – 12:00	The supported employment model in Europe	Panelists:Elka Todorova Chairperson of NFRI – Bulgaria, Michaela Meier , Robert Schuen, Jugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH -Austia, Marga Valdeolmillos Fundación Pascual Tomás – Spain Baris Boru Ubited ltd.- Turkey
12:00- 12:15	The Supported employment consultant as a new profession in Bulgaria – accreditation steps and professional qualification	Luba Ivanova, Chief expert, NAVET – Bulgaria
12:15-13:15	Lunch break
II PANEL SESSION: “Coach@Work pilot phase in Europe and its impact”
13:15 – 14:05	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Bulgaria – shared experience by the piloters and trainers	Maya Fyodоrova – trainer, Assoc. prof. Margarita Bakracheva – trainer and representatives of the Bulgarian piloters
14:05 – 14:20	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Austria – shared experience by JaW	Michaela Meier, Robert SchuenJugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH -Austia
14:20 – 14:35	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Turkey – shared experience	Baris BoruUbited ltd.- Turkey
14:35 – 14:50	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Spain- shared experience	Marga Valdeolmillos, Emilio Sanz Fundación Pascual Tomás – Spain
III PANEL SESSION: “The sustainability of the Coach@Work project’s results”
14:50 – 15:00	Steps and opportunities shared by project partners		Panelists:Petya Grudeva Project manager, Zgura – M ltd. Bulgaria Elka Todorova Chairperson of NFRI – Bulgaria Luba Ivanova Chief expert, NAVET – Bulgaria Robert Schuen Jugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH –Austia Marga Valdeolmillos Fundación Pascual Tomás – Spain Baris Boru Ubited ltd.- Turkey
15:00-15:10	Open discussion with the conference participants
15:10- 16:00	Certification  Award’s Ceremony for the piloters
16:00	Closure of the conference

„Inbildung“ thinking of implementing COACH@WORK training

Currently, talks are held with „inbildung“ to integrate the training, which was developed as part of the COACH@WORK EU project, into the education and training offers of the public training centre of Jugend am Werk Steiermark. During the three-years’ project, the project partners developed a curriculum including nine modules and focusing on the education and training of Supported Employment Consultants. In her talks with Michaela Meier, who represented JAW in the COACH@WORK project, Christine Bramersdorfer, head of „inbildung“, seemed particularly interested in the blend of online modules and face-2-face learning: ‚When we manage to adapt the online platform to our needs and requirements the COACH@WORK curriculum could be a valuable addition to our existing education and training offers.’

BEST PRACTICE VIDEOS

Barriers need to be overcome. The question, however, is: What barriers are we talking about and how can we successfully overcome them?

Videos can address “limits”, and they can show the advantages of a barrier-free world of work. As part of the FOKUS WIRTSCHAFT events, significant videos will be made for every event, thus addressing various kinds of limitations. More important, however, is that the videos will demonstrate the achievements of people with assistance and how enterprises have successfully integrated these people into their staff.

An additional topic deals with the role of people with disabilities as customers, thus bringing new products and services onto the market.

https://www.fokus-wirtschaft.at/sk/fokus-wirtschaft/best-practice-videos

Employment of people with disabilities: challenges and solutions

International Conference

(Final multiplier event of the COACH@WORK project)

6 July 2017, Burgas, Bulgaria

Expo Center Flora, Conference hall №2

6th July 2017
09:30 – 10:30	Registration of the participants Press conference
10:30 – 10:40	Official opening of the conference and welcome speech of the Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov
10:40 – 10:50	Welcome speech by Coach@Work project coordinator Zgura – M	Maria GoranovaGeneral manager,Zgura – M ltd. Bulgaria
10:50 – 11:00	Welcome speech by prof. Rumen Stamatov	Prof. Rumen StamatovChairperson of NARHU – BulgariaUmbrella organisation PwDs
11:00 – 11:20	Coach@Work project – presentation of  all results and outcomes achieved	Petya GrudevaProject manager, Zgura – M ltd. BulgariaA. LazarovProject manager, Interprojects ltd. Bulgaria
I  PANEL SESSION: “Supported employment model in Europe”
11:20 – 12:00	The supported employment model in Europe	Panelists:Elka TodorovaChairperson of NFRI – BulgariaMichaela MeierRobert SchuenJugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH -AustiaMarga ValdeolmillosEmilio SanzFundación Pascual Tomás – SpainBaris Boru Ubited ltd.- Turkey
12:00- 12:15	The Supported employment consultant as a new profession in Bulgaria – accreditation steps  and professional qualification	Luba IvanovaChief expert,NAVET – Bulgaria
12:15-13:15	Lunch break
II PANEL SESSION: “Coach@Work pilot phase in Europe and its impact”
13:15 – 14:05	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Bulgaria – shared experience by the piloters and trainers	Maya Fyodоrova – trainerAssoc. prof. Margarita Bakracheva – trainerAnd representatives of the Bulgarian piloters
14:05 – 14:20	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Austria – shared experience by JaW	Michaela MeierRobert SchuenJugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH -Austia
14:20 – 14:35	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Turkey –  shared experience by….	Baris BoruUbited ltd.- Turkey
14:35 – 14:50	The pilot phase of Coach@Work project in Spain- shared experience by….	Marga ValdeolmillosEmilio SanzFundación Pascual Tomás – Spain
III PANEL SESSION: “The sustainability of the Coach@Work project’s results”
14:50 – 15:00	Steps and opportunities shared by project partners		Panelists:Petya GrudevaProject manager, Zgura – M ltd. BulgariaElka TodorovaChairperson of NFRI – BulgariaLuba IvanovaChief expert,NAVET – BulgariaRobert Schuen Jugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH –Austia Marga Valdeolmillos Fundación Pascual Tomás – Spain Baris Boru Ubited ltd.- Turkey
15:00-15:10	Open discussion with the conference participants
15:10- 16:00	Certification  Award’s Ceremony for the piloters
16:00	Closure of the conference

 

COACH@WORK – Piloting in Austria

​​Over the last few weeks, 21 participants took place in the pilot training of the COACH@WORK project at Jugend am Werk Steiermark in Graz. They were able to deepen their skills in the field of supported employment for people with disabilities. The 100-learning-hours‘ training programme was implemented as a blended learning course with a combination of face-to-face and online learning. The feedback was good, and one participant explained, “I was able to learn quite a few new things and already had the opportunity to use them in my daily work. I’m really glad I got the opportunity to take part in this course.”

Yesterday, 29^th of May, the Coach@Work team organized a seminar to disseminate the project and its practical implementation in the field of Supported Employment.

The participants came from several public and private institutions, NGOs,  and experts in the field of education also were among attendees. The attendees were really interested in the results of Supported Employment Consultants course that was carried out by Fundación Pascual Tomás, Spain and took place in its premises.

Moreover, the Coach@Work team informed the participants about the continuation and next plans for exploitation of the project. These plans aim to promote and increase the awareness of disability in our region and the improvement of employability of people with disabilities.

Coach@Work Project Team participated Pendik Job Fair

Project Team participated 7th Job Fair organized by Pendik Municipality on 17th November 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. There were 16 companies represented by HR teams to meet with potential employees. More than 500 employees registered and visited the stands of the companies.

Project Team found a chance to talk with representatives of the companies and gave project general information and piloting process details to register online learning system and follow the training activities.

Coach@Work Project Team visited Togemder Special Education Job School

Project Team visited TOGEMDER Special Education Job School in Istanbul at 2nd June 2016. It was organized under blended mobility activity of the Project. This school built by Social Development Center Education and Social Solidarity Association (TOGEMDER) supported by Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. In Turkey, Individuals with physical or mental deficiency younger than 21 years old and graduated from elementary school attend job schools.

Project trainers and learners who would like to attend pilot e-learning activities of the Project informed teachers how to manage internship with 3days of the week for 2 semesters with volunteers help on and off job support. Trainers showed some practical examples to teachers as support activities to use in accommodation and hotel services, catering services, furniture and interior design, handcraft technologies activities.

Coach@Work Project Team visited Ministry of Family and Social Policies – Istanbul Directorate

Project Team visited the institution in Istanbul at 2nd June 2016. It was organized under blended mobility activity of the Project. They received the information about the services and project managed by the 6 branches:

Family and public services, children services, disabled and elderly services, status of women, social aids, services for casualty relatives and veterans.

Coach@Work Project Team visited Smiling Down Cafe

Project team visited Smiling Down Cafe in Istanbul at 1st June 2016. . It was organized under blended mobility activity of the Project. This cafe has something very unique and that is for everyone who visits the cafe immediately visible. In the cafe, customers namely served by very friendly staffs that have down syndrome.

Project team informed the professional instructors, special education teacher and volunteers from catering service how to work with those special workers, how to organize training in dealing with visitors, how to take orders and how to serve. The staff with down syndrome are engaged with their volunteer brothers or sisters who may accompany them when they for instance are tired or do not understand something.

Coach@Work Project Team participated info-meeting at Down Syndrome Association

Project Team participated info-meeting at Down Syndrome Association in Istanbul, Turkey at 30th May 2016. It was organized under blended mobility activity of the Project. After getting information from the representatives of the NGO about their local and national activities project and campaigns. Project staff from UBITED, Zgura-M, Interprojects and JAW gave information how to manage effectively down syndrome health clinic, career and independent living academy, job coaching activities by volunteers in the organization.

Coach@Work Project Team visited  Turkish Labor Agency (ISKUR) Pendik Office

Participants visited Turkish Labor Agency (ISKUR) Pendik Office in Istanbul, Turkey at 30th May 2016. It was organized under blended mobility activity of the Project. It provides the service of job and employee agency effectively in accordance with the needs of labour market. It enables, maintains, develop and diversify the employment. The Agency provides a temporal income support to people who have lost their jobs via implementation of active labour market policies aimed at enhancing the employability of workforce.

Coach@Work Project disseminated at Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair in Turkey

Minister of Labor and Social Security of Turkey made opening speech. COACH@WORK Project presented at Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair (Sagif2016) at 13-14 May 2016. Main target groups of the fair were employers from industrial companies and factories, academicians of the universities and representatives of the local NGOs. It gave a good chance to give information about educational robotics and disseminate COACH@WORK Project.

Group working activity with young volunteers organized in Istanbul

Coach@Work Project Management Team was organized a group working activity with young volunteers to increase the sensitivity and awareness of the participants through disabled people at 2nd April 2016 in Istanbul. Participants discussed in small groups and presented their works to other participants. Discussed topics were:

– how do we help disabled in different ways?

– how do we make their life easy?

– how do we share our ideas with them whether blind, non-hearing or with down syndrome.

“Supported Employment consultant” is included officially in the List of professions for vocational education and training in Bulgaria

By Decree of the Minister of Education and Science from 29.07.2016 the new specialty 7620102 “Supported employment consultant”– third degree of professional qualification has been added to the profession 762010 “Mediator of the labor market” in the List of professions for vocational education and training (LPVET).

According to the Employment Promotion Act the “Supported employment” means providing assistance to unemployed persons with permanent disabilities and unemployed from other disadvantaged groups in the labor market, according to their specific needs to benefit from unsubsidized employment.” The inclusion of the specialty in the LPVET will allow to the VET centers in Bulgaria to offer and conduct trainings in this specific area and to deliver officially recognized certificates on its practice. For the purpose of developing a state educational standard for qualification in the new profession the project results from the training modules will be used.

This will create conditions for profiling of the individuals who prepare themselves for labor mediators so they could continue their studies in the second specialty, acquiring specific competencies in the field of Supported employment.

The idea is to provide an integrated social service, including five main stages: Selection and engagement of the direct beneficiaries of the service; Customer profile/ preparation of an action plan; Professional orientation; Searching and finding a job and involvement of the employer; Support at and outside the workplace/ career development.

The Supported Employment consultant pays particular attention to the psychological aspect of the service and expresses professional interest with a focus on individual attitudes and motivation of disabled people.

Supported employment model introduced within a scientific conference in Bulgaria

Zgura-M Team took part in an International conference entitled “Leadership and organizational development”. The event was organized by Sofia University in cooperation with other organizations working in the field of HR development. The conference continued four days between the 16^th and 19^th of June 2016 in Kiten, Bulgaria. The attendees were academics working in the field of psychology and HR, representatives of third-sector organizations, PhD students and other professionals. The conference program suggested variety of topics centred on strengthening of workforce and innovation. Zgura-M team had the chance to present COACH@WORK project during the opening day of the conference. Petia Grudeva gave 20mins presentation on social effects of the Supported Employment Model and how can it be introduced in Bulgaria. The participants were interested to receive information and materials describing the project and some of them expressed readiness to take part in the forthcoming testing phase.

In addition, the report on Supported Employment Model was included in the conference proceedings. The event was well-attended by more than 200 hundred participants for the four days.

The proceedings can be found on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/984071005041525/

Coach@Work presented with its own stand within the Healthy and Wealthy festival in Sofia

Zgura-M participated with its own stand within the Healthy and wealthy festival, on 11^th and 12^th of June 2016 in Sofia, the South park. On the stand the visitors had the chance to familiarize themselves with the opportunities for learning and qualification, which the Zgura-M projects offer.

The training program, developed within the Coach@Work, attracted great interest among the HR specialists and representatives of NGOs who provide services for people with disabilities. During the two days of the festival, over 2300 people passed through the stand and had the chance to learn about the offered products and services.

The supported employment model was discussed with various kinds of specialists in the field of employment and social work. As a result, agreements for future trainings and participations in the pilot phase of the project in Bulgaria were made.

COACH@WORK Project presented within the BULMEDICA/BULDENTAL exhibition between the 17th and 19th of May 2016 in Sofia

COACH@WORK Project presented within the Fifth International Fair of Enterprises from Social Economy

Bulgarian partners had the chance to promote COACH@WORK project within the Fifth International Fair of Enterprises from Social Economy held between the 31st of March and the 03rd of April 2016. We participated as exhibitor in a specially arranged stand which was situated in one of the most communicative locations in the International Fair of Plovdiv.

COACH@WORK Project was presented by its leaflets and banner, as well as .ppt presentation was given on the 2nd of April 2016. The most useful part of the event was the face-to-face contact with professionals who provide career guidance to people with disabilities who are very interested to participate in future piloting.

In addition, we involved people with disabilities in COACH@WORK project activities, and made them familiar with the supported employment model. One of the interesting contacts was with Dr. Miguel Angel Cabra de Luna, Director of Social Relations, International Affairs and Strategic Planning in Spain. He was eager to collaborate with us on different activities that contribute to the promoting of supported employment all over Europe. Other interesting contacts with project stakeholders were with Turkish representatives of Youth organizations, who also confirmed their willingness to collaborate with us. This was also a good chance to meet different professionals who may contribute with feedback to the development of COACH@WORK training program.

SE Consultant officially recognized as a new profession in Bulgaria

2016 has started with very good news about COACH@WORK project. As a result of efforts made by the Bulgarian Partners, and especially NAVET and NFRI, the new profession is added to the National Classification of Professions. Supported Employment Consultant is already recognised and the Bulgarian employers can appoint such specialist within their organizations or enterprises. According to the Bulgarian Qualification Framework it refers to level 3.

We will keep you informed about other developments and steps related to the introduction of the new profession in Bulgaria and other European countries.

16 October 2015, Presentation of the project during International conference on inclusion organised by Suleyman Sah University, Istanbul, Turkey

Oral presentation of COACH@WORK project during a workshop with employers on issues related to accessible services for people with disabilities on 4th October 2015 in Bansko, Bulgaria

1 October 2015, Presentation of the project during Round table “How VET could support labour market inclusion”, Bucharest, Romania

Dissemination of COACH@WORK project within EUFAMI International Congress on 19th September 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria

18 September 2015, Dublin, Ireland, Presentation of the project during EU Conference “Transition from VET to employment”

09 June 2015, Oral Presentation during Anniversary event of American anti-discrimination act ratification organised by the USA Embassy in Sofia

COACH@WORK project was presented during COACH@WORK during training workshop at Interdisciplinary Symposium “Social Competences, Creativity And Wellbeing” ISSCCW, Plovdiv, BG

Dissemination of COACH@WORK progress within International conference on creativity and innovation, 4th July 2015, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

COACH@WORK project was presented during SGSCC EU conference – 2 June 2015, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

COACH@WORK project was presented during the SGSCC conference which was held on 2nd of June 2015 in Plovdiv. More than 100 beneficiaries (experts, policy makers, people with disabilities and their organisations) attended the event.

The first step towards the incorporation of Supported Employment Model in Bulgaria is made

COACH@WORK project enters in one of its most important and active phases. The team working on the project has the pleasure to inform you about their first big achievement regarding a change in the employment policy on national level.

During the first months of 2015 the four Bulgarian partners combined their efforts and expertise and lobbied about the incorporation of Supported Employment Model in the labour low of The Republic of Bulgaria.

Ms. Elka Todorova, as a chairperson of NFEPD (National Federation of Employers of People with Disabilities) was admitted to the meetings of the working group for preparation of amendments to the Employment Promotion Law. As a nationally represented organization NFEPD submitted a written proposal for the incorporation of the Supported Employment Model as a tool for encouragement and support of people with disabilities. The proposal was motivated by statistics and of course by the success and good results that this model has achieved in other European countries. A part of the motivated proposal was the presentation of the COACH @ WORK project and its planned results.

After extensive discussions and expert dispute the Bulgarian partners can proudly say that the model of supported employment is incorporated in the amendments to the Employment Promotion Law.

A new paragraph 23 is created in article 30:

Art. 30а. (New – SG, nr. 26 of 2003) (1) Funds are provided for implementation of programs and measures for promotion of employment and are meant for:

paragraph 23 “supported employment”

There are some amendments and supplements in §1 of the Additional Provisions and a new paragraph 45 is added with the following text:

paragraph 45 “Supported employment” is assistance to unemployed people with disabilities and unemployed people from other disadvantaged groups in the labor market, according to their specific needs to work on non-subsidized jobs.

Changes were last discussed in the working group and adopted by the Council of Ministers and accordingly submitted to the National Assembly of Bulgaria on 2 July 2015. They have been also adopted by the National Commission on Labour, Social and Demographic Policy of the National Assembly. The adoption of the amendments by the other distributed committees is forthcoming.

You can track the adoption of the amendments here: http://www.mlsp.government.bg/ckfinder/userfiles/files/politiki/zaetost/na%20vasheto%20vnimanie%20proekti%20na%20dokumetni%20za%20obsujdane/Proekt_ZNZ.pdf

The bill is uploaded onto the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and you can see it here:  http://www.mlsp.government.bg/ckfinder/userfiles/files/politiki/zaetost/na%20vasheto%20vnimanie%20proekti%20na%20dokumetni%20za%20obsujdane/Proekt_ZNZ.pdf

You can expect information about the meetings of the National Assembly in the autumn when the changes in the law will be voted. Meanwhile the Bulgarian partners continue to work actively on the other project tasks.

The National Agency for Vocational Education and Training is preparing a plan for incorporation of the new profession “Consultant on Supported Employment” in the List of professions for vocational education and training (LPVET).

The third international partner meeting will be held at the end of October 2015 in Plovdiv. The achievements and activities implemented so far will be discussed during the meeting and an action plan for the other planned results will be made.

SOCIAL INCLUSION AND EMPLOYMENT OF DISABLED PEOPLE THROUGH RECOGNITION AND VALIDATION OF ACQUIRED SKILLS

 

On 19^th May, 2015 Zgura-M team has attended a Round Table on “Social inclusion and employment of disabled people through recognition and validation of acquired skills.” The event was organised by the European Center for Quality in the framework of REVADIS project which main goal is to develop instruments for validation of acquired skills for 5 types of disabilities, namely physical, hearing, visual, learning difficulties, and mental health problems.

The participants within the event were representatives of NGOs working with people with disabilities, National Employment Agency, National Agency for Disabled People in Bulgaria, university professors from 2 Bulgarian universities, as well as two more Bulgarian partners of COACH@WORK project, namely National Federation of Employers of People with Disabilities and Interprojects Ltd. There were also foreign guests, mainly psychologists and disability experts from Romania, Spain, and Portugal.

At the beginning of the Round Table the participants were familiarised with the proposed model for validation of acquired skills based on the five types of disabilities. Then the floor was given to the Bulgarian representatives of public institutions who presented the national policy and legislation regarding the employment of people with disabilities. In addition, Ms Elka Todorova from National Federation of Employers of People with Disabilities gave good practice examples of Bulgarian companies who have employed and retained disabled employees.

The Agenda of the event also included a thorough presentation of COACH@WORK project and its outputs. We may say that the concept of the project was just straight on the topic of the event because just before the presentation a participant asked whether there were any specially trained professionals who could provide complex support to people with disabilities in terms of proper vocational training and suitable employment. The answer to this question was affirmative as this professional is the job coacher.

Then Petya Grudeva, on behalf of Zgura-M team, made an overview of COACH@WORK activities with emphasis on the job profile of the coacher and the respective training programme. The presentation was followed by discussion on the importance of the supported employment and how it can be introduced in Bulgaria.

The event was a good opportunity to establish new contacts with representatives of COACH@WORK target groups. Agreements for future collaboration between Zgura-M and some of the participating organizations were made.

FIRST PROGRESS REPORT

The project consortium of the COACH@WORK project successfully completed and submitted the first project Progress report.

COACH @ WORK PROJECT presented at the European Fair in Plovdiv

The 4th European Fair of social economy enterprises took place on 26-29 March, 2015 in Plovdiv. Zgura-M company participated with its own stand at the exhibition, where visitors had the opportunity to learn about the training materials developed in the framework of international initiatives funded by Erasmus + Programme.

Visits to our stand exceeded 250 a day, and among the projects of great interest was COACH @ WORK. The exhibition was accompanied by thematic roundtables and discussions. On 27 March 2015 COACH @ WORK project was presented by the Bulgarian partners Zgura-M and NFEDP within the roundtable about international cooperation. It was attended by about 60 participants, including representatives of state and local authorities, employers, representatives of NGOs and associations working in the field of support of people with disabilities. After the presentation of the project participants expressed their interest to be informed about the progress of the project and in particular the process of incorporating the new profession in the national classification and the presentation of the developed training materials.

Overall, these four days were a period of many fruitful contacts, which certainly expanded the list of the stakeholders who will in future be included in the project activities and contribute to the promotion of its results.

Kick off meeting of National Advisory Board in Bulgaria – 31 March 2015 Sofia, Bulgaria

The kick-off meeting of the NAB was very important event in terms of project progress. There were representatives from Ministry of labour and social affairs, Ministry of education and science, National agency for people with disabilities, NGO’s of people with disabilities and representatives by Employer’s organisations as well as project partners – ZGURA-M, Interprojects, NFRI and NAVET. During this meeting a thorough review of the draft version of the SE coacher’s job profile was elaborated. Written feedback by the participants was provided to the project consortium.

Presentation of the project within a seminar “Regional collaboration” held during the International Fair on 27 March 2015, in Plovdiv

SECOND PARTNER’ MEETING – 10 & 11 MARCH 2015, GRAZ, AUSTRIA

On 10th and 11th of March 2015 in Graz, Austria the second transnational partners’ meeting took place. It was organised by the hosting partner Jugend am Werk in their headquarter. Each partner country presented the results from the implemented surveys with Supported employment providers, career counselors, case managers, mediators on the labour market, VET centers, NGO of/for people with disabilities and governmental bodies / policy makers organised in the period 15 December 2014 till 1 March 2015 in Bulgaria, Turkey, Spain and Austria. The results were thoroughly discussed and initial plans for the development of comparative report was held. The partners also discussed the selection of psycho-attitudional, performance based and case assessment models which will be used as a preliminary monitoring of the supported employment coachers in intellectual output 2. They also agreed on the framework for the production of the VET programme for job coachers and divided their responsibilities in the leading of the modules production.

The next meeting will be held on 28-29 October 2015 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Presentation of the project during round table with international disability experts, 5 March 2015, Vilnius, Lithuania

Series of presentations of the COACH@WORK project organised by NAVET:

• 6 January 2015: the Commission “Social services and personality services”
• 23 January 2015: the Commission “Business Management and Administration”
• 19 February 2015: the Commission “Vocational Guidance”
• 20 February 2015: the Commission “Information and Communication Technologies”

KICK-OFF MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD IN BULGARIA, 27 FEBRUARY 2015, SOFIA, BULGARIA

On 31 March 2015 in Sofia, a kick-off meeting of the members of the National Advisory board will be organised. The hosting partner is the National Federation of the employers of people with disabilities organised the venue and its facilities.

More information about the event will follow onto the website. For more information please look into the agenda of the event available in Bulgarian language coach@work дневен ред национална консултативна група софия 27022015

Presentation of the project in front of representatives from all labour offices on the territory of Plovdiv Municipality, 25 February 2015

24th February 2015, Valencia, SPAIN Kick off meeting of National Advisory board

The participants of the NAB are very interested in the project. They consider that the aim of the project is very interesting due to the need of specific training by the SE providers in this field, both National and European level.

Some participants have a Master of Supported Employment, so they could advise about training materials. In general they consider that the SE providers should be more trained in this field.

They can help us to contact with other organisations in the future. The NGO PODEM belongs to Supported Employment Network.

Dissemination of COACH@WORK project during training seminar on communication and interaction with people with disabilities, 22 February 2015, Velingrad

Presentation of the project during round table with experts in the field of disability and employment organised by the Bologna University, 19 February 2015, Bologna, Italy

Presentation of the project during workshop “Development of social inclusion services in Plovdiv Municipality”, 13 January 2015, Plovdiv – Jointly organized by ZGURA M and INTERPROJECTS

12.01.2015 NEW-D project meeting in Berlin – presentation of COACH@WORK project

COACH@WORK project presented at a municipal seminar in Assenovgrad, Bulgaria, 25.11.2014

KICK-OFF MEETING PLOVDIV, BULGARIA

On 19-20 November, 2014, the kick-off meeting of COACH@WORK project took place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It was mutually hosted by the two Bulgarian partners based in the city, namely “Interprojects” Ltd. and the Coordinator “Zgura-M”.

The meeting started with introduction of all partners and continued with detailed presentation of project’s outputs. At the end of the first day all partners were aware of what is required in terms of their administrative and content roles. The second day was dedicated to discussion and planning of the project’s research phase. The session was carried out in the form of brainstorming where all partners generated ideas about the best ways to conduct the data collection process.

As a result partners made the following decisions:

• 3 types of questionnaires, i.e. for NGOs , for VET Centres, and for SE workers will be developed;
• Bulgarian NAVET will prepare a report based on desktop research on the existing policy for Supported Employment services and the professionals involved in them.

The dates for the next transnational partners meetings were also fixed. The common dinner also contributed to strengthen the interpersonal contacts among partners.

To get more information about project’s progress and to find out how the decisions made are implanted you should regularly visit the project website.

Presentation of the project during Contact Seminar on Adult Learning held on 12th to 14th of November 2014 in Brussels, Belgium

COACH@WORK project disseminated in front of Bulgarian Business Community, 7 November 2014, Plovdiv

Presentation of the project during Experts’ workshop on “Labour market inclusion”, 28 October 2014, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Presentation during International conference “Disability and employment”, Sofia, 10 October 2014

INVITATION TO TENDER FOR ROLE OF EXTERNAL EVALUATOR (published on 19 September 2014)

ZGURA-M LTD. as official contractor of the COACH AT WORK (C@W) project, funded by Erasmus+ programme invites you to tender for the role of External evaluator according to the information provided below:

PROJECT DETAILS

Name of Project:       COACH AT WORK (C@W)

Start/End Dates:         01.09.2014 – 31.08.2017

Duration:                    36 months

Aims/Objectives:

The impact of the Supported employment (SE) approach (a method of working with disabled people and other disadvantaged groups to access and maintain paid employment in the open labour market) have been identified in previous T-EST project (LLP-LDV-TOI-12-AT-0011) as very beneficial to the PwD and during its implementation phase it gives clear quality improvement of the accessibility to the labour market for those targets. However during this process the partners discovered the need for development of dedicated VET programme for training of Job coachers of people with disabilities which does not exist so far in Europe as officially accredited job profile.The COACH@WORK project will continue supporting the inclusion of the Supported employment approach in Austria and Spain, but also in new countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey where this will be done for the first time by developing EQAVET system for recognition, validation and accreditation of their knowledge, skills and competencies. Those learning outcomes will be in connection with the dedicated unique ECVET training programme for SE providers which will cover: Disability awareness; Acquisition of key & transversal competencies; Application of interactive technologies and methods in coaching process; Mainstreaming and digital technologies usage by PwD; Supported employment basis; Pre-employment support agenda Dedicated training materials (for PwD job seekers) related to all aspects of seeking employment: preparing for interview; completion job applications; disclosure of disability; presenting a professional appearance; analysing strengths and weaknesses; accessing further help and resources etc.; Career guidance and labour market methods.

Partnership:

ZGURA-M LTD. (BG) – Contractor National Agency for Vocational Education and Training (BG) National Federation of Employers of Disabled People (BG) INTERPROJECTS (BG) Jugend am Werk Steiermark GmbH (AT) UBITED – Uluslarasi Bilim, Inovasyon, Teknoloji ve Egitimi Destekleme Dernegi Fundacion Pascual Tomas (SP)

Expected Results and Outputs:

• Intellectual output 1 Consolidated survey findings   Executive summary
• Intellectual output 2: EQAVET system for recognition, validation and certification non-formal and informal learning deriving from voluntary civil services’ experience
• Intellectual output 3: Instructions Guide for the system of competencies monitoring in the SE service
• Intellectual output 4: COACH@WORK VET training programme for Supported Employment (SE) providers
• Intellectual output 5: Usability report
• Intellectual output 6: Project website and e-learning platform

 

DETAILS OF PROPOSED EVALUATION:

Evaluation Objective:

To support the implementation of the C@W project through the provision of process-related evaluation (evaluating project progress, achievements and outcomes; evaluating the roles and of project partners; evaluating mechanisms and strategies for project implementation) at key project stages, providing active and ongoing feedback to the contractor and project partners.Interim partners consultation should include: Survey of project partners at mid-project stage, covering issues such as project progress, partner role in project, project coordination, approaches to national networking and involvement of target groups and stakeholders, etcSurvey of project partners at mid-project stage, covering issues such as intellectual output progress, partner role in development of intellectual outputs progress, methodologies used, approaches to national networking and involvement of target groups and stakeholders, etc.Preparation of Interim Evaluation Report should inculde:Considering observed progress (partner meetings), the results of the interim partner consultation and an interim review of project documentation, an interim, formative evaluation report will be prepared reflecting primarily upon ‘contractual’ versus ‘achieved’ tasks and activities for submission to ZGURA-M LTD (Contractor)Considering observed progress (partner meetings), the results of the interim partner consultation and an interim review of intellectual outputs a report will be prepared reflecting primarily upon ‘contractual’ versus ‘achieved’ intellectual outputs and evaluation of the quality of the achieved intellectual outputs for submission to ZGURA-M LTD (Contractor)Final Partner consultation should include:Survey of project partners towards the end of the project, covering issues such as end project achievements, partner impact upon project, successes and challenges on a national level (national networking, links with target groups, involvement of stakeholders) and potential sustainabilitySurvey of project partners towards the end of the project, covering issues such as end project achievements, impact of the Intellectual outputs upon project, successes and challenges on a national level (national networking, links with target groups, involvement of stakeholders) and potential sustainabilityPreparation of Final Evaluation ReportConsidering observed progress (partner meetings, valorisation events), the results of the final partner consultation and a final review of project products, tools & documentation, a final, summative evaluation report will be prepared reflecting upon ‘contractual’ versus ‘achieved’ tasks, activities, products and results for submission to ZGURA-M LTD.Considering observed progress (partner meetings, valorisation events), the results of the final partner consultation and a final review of project intellectual outputs a final, summative evaluation report will be prepared reflecting upon ‘contractual’ versus ‘achieved’ intellectual outputs and evaluation of the quality of the intellectual outputs for submission to ZGURA-M LTD.   (Contractor).

Deliverables:

The main deliverables for this contract comprise an Interim Evaluation Report and a Final Evaluation Report. Findings and recommendations from the Interim Evaluation phase will also be presented to the project partners at a time and location agreed with ZGURA-M LTD (Contractor).

Costs:

Costs are to be presented to include the following: number of days required for the interim evaluation phase (including report preparation) number of days required for meeting attendance (include the number of meetings             expected to be attended and the number of days for each meeting, please also ensure             that you include time for providing feedback on the interim evaluation results) number of days required for the final evaluation phase (including report preparation) The total number of days should then be provided along with a cost per day allowing the total costs of the external evaluation to be calculated.

Other:

The launch meeting of the C@W project is planned for 18-21 November 2014 in Bulgaria, please could you also indicate whether your are available to attend this meeting (it is not a requirement of the tender that you attend this meeting).

Deadline for Tender:

Please submit your tender, in electronic form, to:Maria Goranova (zguraprojects@gmail.com) by 25 October, 2014 at the latest.