Supported Apprenticeships Scheme Project: Highlights of the year!

Supported Apprenticeships Scheme Project: Highlights of the year!

14 European Vocational Integration Counsellors and trainers continued to support potential apprentices  with disabilities to access apprenticeships in Bulgaria, France, Norway, Spain and Greece. Questionnaires were developed by the partners to record and monitor increased competences of staff and log books to record the progress made by the apprentices themselves. Feedback was shared and analysed within the partnership during regular online project consortium steering committee meetings.

EPR welcomed the project partners to Brussels for an in person meeting on 23rd May coinciding with the 5th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities. Some partners were able to attend the EPPD with the aim of building stronger links between the project and political members to increase impact on European policy related to apprenticeships for people with disabilities. For project partners that could not get access, EPR organised a study visit to Greop Intro, a Flemish organisation supporting vulnerable people into education, training and work. There was a fruitful exchange on good practices, funding and political frameworks in supporting people with disabilities into apprenticeships and work using holistic and person-centred approaches. Future exchanges of information and potentially, staff and student exchanges, are in the pipeline. All participants in the study visit appreciated the connection.

The TPM enabled partners to come together to share progress made by European Vocational Integration Counsellors who have been trained by the project, in supporting potential apprentices with disabilities to access apprenticeships. Discussions also took place on quality apprenticeships and lessons learnt so far from the project that will feed into the policy recommendations being considered by EPR.

Another TPM took place on 13th and 14th September at Theotokos offices in Greece during which partners were able to undertake a study visit and meet the apprentices on the scheme and EPR had the opportunity to present and to receive input and feedback from the other partners on draft policy recommendations for quality apprenticeships for people with disabilities.

Following a project meeting that took place online on 12 December, EPR has begun analysing the early proposals by the different project partners for developing the final policy recommendations to be presented for the SAS project by the end of 2024. The actual drafting of policy recommendations will depend largely on findings from the implementation reports of each partner which are expected for later in 2024.