1. UEmploy:
A European Model of Vocational
Integration and Specialized
Employment
Dr. Alan Bruce: Universal Learning Systems Ireland
IARP Conference: San Juan, Puerto Rico
26 October 2012

2. Setting objectives
1. Demonstrating international dimensions of
disability best practice
2. Understanding the dimensions of European
rehabilitation
3. Investigating innovative job analysis and
placement tools: the UEmploy project
4. Creating international cooperation in
employment outcomes

3. Background: the UEmploy Project
 The role of the European Union in social policy measures
 The traditions of national systems
 The funding of initiatives: the European Commission
 The role of the Directorate General
 The Lifelong Learning Program
 Lisbon Agenda (2000)
 Europe 2020 (2014-20)
 From policy to action

4. European Funding
 European Regional Development Fund: modernization, research,
innovation, environmental protection and economic growth
 European Social Fund: adaptability of labor and enterprises, enhanced
access to work, social inclusion, equal access and partnership in
combating discrimination
 European Maritime and Fisheries Fund: European Agricultural
Guarantee Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Regional
Development, European Fisheries Fund
Strategic objectives:
 Reduction of disparities in income, wealth and opportunities
 Enhanced labor market outcomes in terms of employability and
sustainable employment.

5. Selecting projects
 Innovative idea that meets stated criteria
 Formation of a strong transnational partnership
 Clear program of work
 Conformity with quality standards in management, operation,
evaluation
 Defined Work Packages
 Value for money
 Sustainability
 Dissemination and added value

6. Future priorities
 Results oriented measures (indicators, reporting, monitoring
and evaluation)
 Performance frameworks (clear and measurable milestones
and targets)
 Coordination with national reform programmes (this will have
particular emphasis in Ireland)
 Coordination and shared access to funds (from ESF and
ERDF)
 Effectiveness (performance measurement frameworks)
 Efficiency (administrative capacity, reduced bureaucracy).

7. Introducing the partners
Timescale 2010-12
Project mission
Leonardo da Vinci Development of Innovation
2010 – 4205/ 001 – 001 - < 510784-LLP-1-2010-1-RO-LEONARDO-LMP >

8. The partners

9. The products:
European Research Report
National Reports
Consultancy tools: people, training, interventions
eLearning
Linkage and networks

10. Helsinki, Finland March 2012

11. Szeged, Hungary June 2012

12. 1. Internationalization of rehabilitation
 Common global experience
 From fear to understanding
 From charity to rights
 Multidisciplinary focus
 Orientation towards employment and work
 Different cultural norms and perspectives
 Public/private dimensions

13. Globalization in focus
 Global change: urbanization, migration, media
 The total marketplace
 Comparative analysis
 Speed of communications
 Demographics
 Development and transformation
 Anticipating the future

14. Globalization: the threats
 Persistence and increase in inequality
 Permanent hopelessness of excluded
 Embedded violence
 Internal underclass
 External invisibility

15. Globalization: opportunities
 Time warp of nation state
 Integration and participation
 Learning without borders
 Global commodification and dissemination of
knowledge
 „Collective effort not collective answers‟ (Therborn)

16. Implications
The emergence of a true global economy
dictates a new role in international activities
to promote the well being of persons with
disabilities through access to jobs, better
technology and social supports...
Source: NIDRR Long Range Plan 1999-2004

17. Policy landscapes: workforce
development
Recommendations or enhancing the existing workforce
development platform focus on three future priorities:
1. Support for Universal Design principles
2. Capacity and community building across stakeholders
3. Expansion of Ticket-to-Work and Self-Sufficiency program
Golden, T. et al, Rehabilitation Research, Policy and Education, NCRE, Vol.
26, Num. 1, 2012

18. Common challenges
 Diminishing fiscal resources
 Increasing client needs (levels of disability, socio-economic
dimensions, ageing)
 Rising unemployment rates
 Public/private fault lines
 Focus on rights
 Impact of generalized and sustained crisis

19. The global rehabilitation
professional
 Working beyond national boundaries
 Responsive to difference – difference as the norm
 Intercultural competence
 Managing diversity
 Ethical dimensions
 From value for money to understanding values
 Embracing change and technology

20. Professional capacity
 Recognizing differences
 Recognizing similarities
 International skills for an international environment
 Interdependence
 Shared learning and capacity development
 Looking at national systems with an objective eye
 Spotting trends and patterns
 Developing applied research skills
 Comparative best practice

21. Common legacies
 Histories of institutionalization
 Marginalization
 Linkage to struggle
 Impact on family
 Medicalization
 Charity
 Media imagery

22. Common agendas
 Robust professional development programs
 Enhanced international learning forums
 Exchanges and placements
 Team working
 Comparative legal practices – or not?
 E-learning and continuing professional development
 Independent vocational functioning without borders

23. Shaping the rehabilitation
professional
 Training of rehabilitation professionals is not universally
available
 Available training is varied and tends to lack a holistic
approach to service provision
 U.S. rehabilitation interventions in foreign countries are
sometimes perceived as “charitable” and one-sided
 U.S. rehabilitation models have not been shaped by the
experiences, insights or achievements of other countries

24. Strategy options and challenges
 By creating learning partnerships on an international level,
we can begin to exchange and develop mutually beneficial
“best practices”
 Dealing with different…
 Definitions
 Traditions
 Legislation
 Systems
 Policy Emphases
 Ethnocentric habits die hard
 Disparate training and credentials

25. 2. European rehabilitation
dimensions
 Emerging from the chaos – the vision of post-1945
 Histories of fragmentation
 The medical model and institutional care
 Lack of comparable models, methods or statistics
 The hidden issue – legacies of genocide and eugenics
 From care to inclusion – policy divergence

26. Europe

27. European vocational rehabilitation
systems
 National divergence
 Historic patterns of care
 Charity and welfare
 The impact of war
 The role of the State
 Links to independent living

28. European Union
 Nature and extent
 Growing impact and role
 Expansion
 Governance
 Disability policy frameworks
 The primacy of work

29. Ongoing issues in European
rehabilitation
 Fragmentation and variance in service provision
 Reliance on quotas and administrative inducements
 Lack of joined up policy regarding education and
qualifications
 Poor access standards
 Top-down legislative approaches
 Lack of standardized assessment systems
 Over-medicalization od system delivery
 Inadequate focus on rights based approaches

30. Forging tools and competence
 Assessment in context
 Types of disabilities – dimensions of intervention
 Physical
 Developmental
 Psychiatric
 Sensory
 Social

31. Professional contours
 Defining the role of rehabilitation professional
 Setting common standards
 Setting goals and targets
 New learning paradigms
 Social partnership
 Employers, unions and the State
 ICT supported transformation

32. Outlining UEmploy
 Background and rationale
 The role of EU supported projects
 The partnership profile:
 Romania
 Bulgaria
 Hungary
 Finland
 Ireland

33. UEmploy milestones
 Background research: national/European
 Needs identification
 Development of employment audits
 Developing scheme managers and auditors
 Employer networks
 On-site analysis
 E-learning tools
 Collaborative learning

34. Critical outcomes
 Employer consultancy
 Job analysis
 Advice and consultancy
 Using shared international perspectives
 Linkage with North America
 Engaging disabled citizens
 Benchmarking best practice
 Developing networks

35. Models of excellence
 Professional skills and validation
 Working in a time of crisis
 Job standards and globalized change
 The impact of social security norms
 Assessing for work as a moving target
 Embedding skills and competencies
 Planning for what?
 Policy directions
 The UEmploy toolkit

36. 3. UEmploy: process and
outcomes
 Developing a shared understanding
 Engaging diverse national partners
 Developing communications
 Enhancing dialogue and defining mythologies
 Avoiding assumptions
 Circular learning
 Using advanced ICT
 Products and deliverables

37. The national reports
 Literature review
 Desk based research
 Interviews with stakeholders: government, employment
offices, disability specific service providers, people with
disabilities and employers
 Statistical overviews – often problematic
 General and standardized conclusions

38. a. Hungary (Coordinator: Peter Zoltan)
 Census (2001): 800,000 out of 10m. population
 Social/vocational rehabilitation did not exist under planned
economy (1947-89.
 Rehabilitation Fund 1993; Social Care Rehabilitation 1998
 Key tools: Quota 5% >20 employees; wage subsidies
 Segregated schooling: 32% do not complete primary
39% have no education qualifications
 Disabled citizens (2001): Employed 9%; Unemployed 2%;
Not active 76.7%
 Issues: prejudice; low expectations; no independent
rehabilitation system

39. b. Bulgaria (Coordinator: Diana Geleta)
 Explicitly medical model: new legislation only in 1990
 Quota system: 4% for employers >50
 Ministry of Labor and National Employment Agency
appointed 250 „mediator consultants‟ in 2011
 Focus: sheltered employment/cooperatives; inclusive
environment; employment
 Unemployment/underemployment at 72%
 Educational levels low or non-existent for 50% of those with
disabilities

40. c. Romania (Coordinator: Dr Anca Colibaba)
 Traditionally weak provision for disability: linked to Roma and
abandoned children
 Many laws, no action: Law 448/06 of 2008 stipulates quota of
4% or fine
 Highly punitive approach and widespread evasion
 No provision for guidance, counseling, support or access
 Segregated and inadequate educational systems
 Highly unreliable statistics

41. d. Finland (Coordinator: Marjatta Varanka)
 Highly evolved and interlinked welfare and policy system
 Strong legislative and research base
 Strongly mainstreamed and rights based
 Employment and Economic Development Offices (KELA)
provide specialized supports
 Work activity centers
 Educational system exceptionally good
 Persistent negative attitudes around disability
 Demographic time bombs – the aging society

42. e. Ireland (Coordinator: Kate Kearney)
 Strong traditions of charity, institutionalization and religious
care
 Excellent legislative and policy development since 1980s:
Equality Act (2005); National Disability Strategy; Disability Act
 Poor employment outcomes – mainstreaming and the role of
„service providers‟
 Impact of crisis and deconstruction of social support
 Development of professional capacity and linkage
 Centre for Excellence in Universal Design
 Rights and diversity integration

43. European Report
 Significant drop in living standards since 1990 in East/Central
Europe. Impact of transition to market economy.
 Generalized impact of crisis in all countries since 2008
 Laws, where they exist, are not enforced or only partially
understood.
 Statistics are unreliable.
 Awareness is poor or uneven
 Categories used are unclear or often overlap
 Service provision is highly fragmented
 Evidence of inherent discrimination through the use of quotas
and other measures

44. European employment issues
 Companies and employers lack knowledge, awareness and
skills
 Policy and strategy is often aspirational but not supported by
tools and practice
 Invisibility of disability in public or employment related
discourse
 Medicalization
 External impetus for national legislative and policy initiatives
 Unfolding process of awareness raising
 Staff training and professional development completely
neglected

45. European trends
 Need for Human Rights based approach is identified
 Fine in theory but issues remain about practice
 Impact of generalized unemployment rates
 From punitive systems to employ to quality measures that
produce shared benefit
 Strong legacy of segregation has a significant impact
 Persisting levels of fear, ignorance or disinterest
 Need for clear policy leadership role backed up by evidence-
based best practice
 Need to relate experience of disability to wider socio-
economic and demographic trends.

46. Vocational rehabilitation
 Pre-employment screening, assessment and post-placement
supports highly valuable but usually missing. Critical need for
consultancy
 Disability rate link to aging. Important to look at link between
disabilities acquired while working – issues around both
recruiting disabled people and retaining people once they
become disabled
 Emphasis required on defining nature of different kinds of work
options: sheltered, supported, open, etc.
 Critical need for specialized supports in accessing mainstream
services
 Significant barriers still exist across all European countries:
physical, legislative and attitudinal

47. UEmploy Training
for Consultants and Employees
Leonardo da Vinci Development of Innovation
2010 – 4205/ 001 – 001 - < 510784-LLP-1-2010-1-RO-LEONARDO-LMP >
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

48. Developing the training
 Selecting Consultants
 Defining the role
 Designing and providing training (September-November
2011)
 Collecting information, job analysis, role play, risk analysis,
employer guidance
 Selecting Scheme Managers – November 2011
 Engaging employers

49. Materials development
 Competency checklist
 Competency toolkit
 Training kit
 Support materials
 Employer audits

50. The future
 Dissemination
 Sustainability
 Added Value
 Identifying and supporting change
 End-user engagement: employers and people with
disabilities

51. 4. International collaboration:
directions and themes
 European policy frameworks
 The impact of the crisis
 Unraveling welfare
 Sourcing funding and support
 Linkage to other dimensions of exclusion
 The importance of US traditions in vocational rehabilitation
 The importance of the European experiment

52. Michael Fullan 2010
The power of collective capacity is that it enables ordinary
people to accomplish extraordinary things – for two reasons.
One is that knowledge about effective practice becomes more
widely available and accessible on a daily basis. The second
reason is more powerful still – working together generates
commitment.

53. Reactions to crisis
 Effort to establish status quo ante
 Denial and paralysis
 Rage and frustration
 Cut, cut and cut: the marketization of thought
 Copy „success‟ stories
 Opportunity to learn: the innovation imperative
 Creativity unbound

54. Constraining innovation
 Institutional resistance
 Community resistance
 Outcomes and results
 Incremental and disruptive dimensions
 Planning for innovation?

55. Embedding creativity
 Organic, reflective evaluative follow-up
 Analysis and modification
 Lasting partnerships between research units and schools
 Labor market transformation impact
 Organic link to work and community
 Professional passion - out of the strait-jacket

56. Embedding technology
 Anytime, anywhere
 The critical importance of e-learning
 Using the cloud
 Demanding digital literacy
 Enhancing methodologies

57. EU strategy against social
exclusion (Treaty of Nice 1998)
 Innovation
 Coordination and integration
 Partnership
 End user participation
 Service quality initiatives

58. Future directions
 Rights and advocacy
 Quality circles (Netherlands)
 Collaborative research
 Culture of innovation
 Highly qualified staff
 Equality frameworks and enforceable standards

59. Key issues
 Assessment
 Progression
 Competence
 Service models: brokers or advocates?
 Funding and resources
 Complex disabilities (dual diagnosis)
 Quality standards development
 Linkage to emancipatory research models
 Universal Design models

60. Professional competence – global
resources
 ILO
 Gladnet
 UN
 OECD
 European Foundation
 Rehabilitation International
 Developing countries‟ networks - CBR, China

61. Directions
 Innovation based on questions, not answers: avoiding
mantras and clichés
 The poetry of open discovery and delight
 Constructing schools as critical spaces
 Connecting science and discovery through technologies of
emancipatory practice
 Rediscovering community in a fractured continent

62. Muchas gracias
Dr. Alan Bruce
ULS
www.uemploy.eu
abruce@ulsystems.com