This website will showcase 12 case studies of good practice assembled through research study visits to the United Kingdom, Poland, Romania and Greece.

This project is a collaborative partnership between National Star Foundation, Centrul Scolar pentru Educatie Incluziva ‘Mirion Ionescu’, ΕΚΕΚ ΑμεΑ Θεσσαλονίκης and Zespół Szkół Budowlanych w Rybniku.

This partnership has been formed around each organisations expertise in working with young people with disabilities and their work with employment programmes. This project gives examples of good practice to enable organisations across the EU to be inspired in their work with young people with disabilities in order to make employment WorkAble.

National Star Foundation

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National Star College is a specialist further education, training, and personal development provision, for 16–25-year-olds, with physical and/or learning disabilities.  A team of specialist tutors, personal learning coordinators, facilitators and therapy staff support people with disabilities to realise their potential as equal and active citizens in control of their lives, by raising aspirations, challenging stereotypes, and changing attitudes.

Work Outcome courses run from 6 months to 3 years.  Students gain hands-on, internal work experience placements in StarBistro, customer services, student shop, Art Factory, horticulture, and a printing enterprise.  Working with a designated Job Coach they apply their skills to external work placements in catering, health and beauty, landscaping, administration, security, facilities management, finance, childcare, retail, hospitality, and construction.

Case studies

Centrul Scolar pentru Educatie Incluziva ‘Mirion Ionescu’

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Centrul Scolar pentru Educatie Incluziva ‘Mirion Ionescu’ – Centru de Resurse şi Documentare pentru Educaţie Incluzivă/Integrată was established in 1993 in Cluj-Napoca.  Our school’s mission is to prepare students with special needs for the world of work and for an independent living. Our main goal is to enhance students’ strengths in order to prepare them for their adult life.

It caters for about 220 students with mild and moderate mental deficiencies as well as other types of challenges such as motor and emotional disorders. Students are aged from 6 to 18.  There are about 80 teachers and therapists in our school and 25 teachers working in mainstream schools as assistant teachers for student with special needs. Along with our teachers there are a social assistant worker, a psychologist and a pediatrician working in the school.  All staff is highly qualified in working with students with special needs.  The school’s building provides classrooms for primary and secondary students, speech therapy rooms, a sensory room, a physiotherapy room, an art room, a PE hall, a science room, a library and a cafeteria.  We have a long tradition in cooperating with schools and other institutions from Europe as we believe in sharing philosophy and good practices in special education.

Case studies

ΕΚΕΚ ΑμεΑ Θεσσαλονίκης

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EKEK AMEA of THESSALONIKI is a vocational school for disabled people who have completed their compulsory education. It is located 20 km outside the urban center and serves students in the greater area of Thessaloniki. The students of the school can choose between five different specialties such as Information Technology, carpentry, tailoring, weaving and agriculture.

In addition to vocational training, students participate in language, math, visual arts, music, and theater classes. The school gives great importance to the psychological and social support of students as well as their connection to the labor market which is promoted through the job centers that operate in each specialty.

Case studies

Zespół Szkół Budowlanych w Rybniku

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ZSB is a public Vocational Education and Training school. We teach students in the following professions: IT, building construction, photography and multimedia,  geodesy, landscaping and computer programming. There are 675 students in our school including students with special needs (learning needs, health needs; 6 of our students have Asperger syndrome, 1 student with central hearing loss, 2 students with aphasia). One of our priorities is to help special needs students graduate, support them in their learning process.

ZSB has a good experience of delivering European projects around disability inclusion. Majority of our students look for work after school. As a school we organize regular meetings with a career advisor, and classes with a career advisor; individual meetings – on request, during those meetings students discuss their career prospects;- workshops are held with career advisors who work in the regional centre for employability.

Case studies

The latest from WorkAble

07/10/2021

Management Meeting, Romania: 4th – 7th October 2021

A two day meeting involving two managerial representatives for each partner. The purpose of the meeting is to; Plan the week long work schedule for the staff research study visit.…
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21/10/2021

Staff Study, Romania: 18th – 21st October 2021

Staff study visit involved three teachers from each partner working together for one week. Their objective was to study examples of good practice in the teaching and learning of employment…
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23/05/2022

Management Meeting, Poland: 28th February – 4th March 2022

A two day meeting involving two managerial representatives for each partner. The purpose of this meeting is to; Reflect on the feedback from the staff study visit to Romania Reflect…
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24/05/2022

Staff Study, Rybnik, Poland: 20th – 26th March 2022

Staff study visit involved three teachers from each partner working together for one week. Their objective was to study examples of good practice in the teaching and learning of employment…
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25/05/2022

Management Meeting, Greece: 16th – 19th May 2022

A two day meeting involving two managerial representatives for each partner. "The managers' meeting was successfully completed in ΕΚΕΚ ΑΜΕΑ Thessaloniki. The participants discussed the planning of the staff’s visit…
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06/07/2022

Staff Study, Greece: 5th – 11th June 2022

Staff visit involved three teachers from each partner working together for one week. Their object was to study examples of good practices in the teaching and learning of employment with…
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06/07/2022

Management Meeting, UK 16th – 17th June 2022

A two day meeting involving two managerial representatives for each partner. The managers' meeting was successfully completed at National Star College in Cheltenham.  The participants discussed the planning of the…
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25/07/2022

Staff Study, UK: 20th – 24th June 2022

Three teachers representing partners in Greece, Poland and Romania visit National Star College in Gloucestershire, UK to explore best practice in the delivery of  work skills for young people with…
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29/11/2022

Expert Group Meeting, Romania 8th to 9th November 2022

The purpose of this meeting is to collate all of the project outcomes, review and edit 12 case studies compiled by partners ready to upload to the website. The review…
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08/12/2022

Final Report Meeting, Gloucester, UK on 6th -7th December 2022

The final report meeting included two managers from each partner. The objective for this meeting was to reflect upon the journey over 2 years and assess the project management and…
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