Introduction
People with disabilities have the right to an equal treatment and employment opportunities as non-disabled people. Support for disabled people has generally been focused on social, health and welfare development, but beside the efforts made by many policies, programmes, and laws, disabled people continue to be marginalized within their communities. In recent times, there’s been a shift in direction towards encouraging people to become more economically independent of the family and of the community.
In their strive to achieve equal status in the community, disabled people face various challenges such as access to education, vocational training, and employment. Without these basic human rights, opportunities and advantages, disabled people in low-income countries such as Macedonia, stand a little chance of making a difference to their lives as low-income countries are generally too poor to allocate adequate financing for the people with disabilities. Considering that almost 1500 people with disabilities are registered as unemployed in the Employment Agency of the Republic of Macedonia, it would be beneficial to concentrate on vocational training and non-formal education to achieve a better inclusion of people with disabilities in the community and on the labor market.
Project goal
The overall goal of the project is to increase the employability of people with disabilities in agricultural companies in three regions (Vardar, Pelagonia, and Polog regions) in Macedonia, through creation, development, and promotion of non-formal educational programs.
Specific Objectives
- To strengthen the capacities and increase the possibility for employment of people with disabilities in 3 targeted regions.
- To strengthen the capacities of the companies for employment of people with disabilities in the 3 targeted regions.
- To advocate for changing the regulations, laws, and by-laws for a more successful integration of people with disabilities, by working together with the relevant institutions.
Duration:
Regions:
Pelagonia region
Polog region
Donor:
Partners:
Employment Agency of RM
ZAPOVIM
Center for Vocational Education and Training
Adult Education Center
Target Group
Target group of this project:
- People with disabilities (people with damaged eyesight, hearing, speaking disabilities, mild intellectual disability and other similar categories) who are interested in employment in the agricultural sector.
- Agricultural Companies/ farms who are members of ZAPOVIM
Activities
- Establishing a Project Advisory Board (PAB) with members of all relevant stakeholders (MLSP, ZAPOVIM, Employment Agency, Social Services Centers, Center for Vocational Education and Training, Adult Education Center and others) ) which would periodically meet to monitor the project’s activities and provide guidelines for its successful implementation
- Analysis of current situation and training needs assessment (TNA) of the target groups within the project. The analysis will cover different aspects of the capacity building of the disabled persons and agricultural companies (Agricultural Production Technologies from all sectors, entrepreneurial skills, ICT in agriculture, social inclusion, social entrepreneurship, workplace mentorship and others).
- Development of a training program based on the information gathered in the analysis of the current situation and TNA.
- Implementation of the training by focusing on the practical work of the disabled persons in agricultural companies,
- Validation of the program – by involving the companies in the evaluation of the training, as well as other relevant institutions (Center for Vocational Education and Training, Adult Education Center, MLSP, Employment Agency and others).
- Round Table for the presentation of the achievements and coordination in the context of the creation of the programs for short courses.
- Organizing Info Days to introduce the project to the unemployed disabled persons and agricultural companies, as well as encouraging their participation.
- Organizing a final conference where the achieved results of the project are going to be presented.
- Promotional activities of the project and advocacy through events (conferences, roundtables), printed and electronic media, the FACE’s website section dedicated to the project, social media, short video clips of success stories etc. The advocacy for the betterment of legislature would go through the PAB.
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