Presentation on specifics in transition of students with mental disabilities to world of work. Under Erasmus+ project "My work is my future"

1. SPECIFICS IN TRANSITION OF STUDENTS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES TO WORLD OF WORK
IN SLOVAKIA

2. WORLD STATISTICS
15 % of world population are people
with disabilities (including children and
youth)
They are in danger of social exclusion,
poverty and abuse
They have to face insufficient
conditions provided by social services;
low education and unemployment

3. SITUATION IN SLOVAKIA
 Only 30% of all 240 000 disabled people are
employed – it represents 8,6% of all working
population of Slovakia
 7 out of 10 people with disability are unemployed
and in danger of social exclusion

4. EDUCATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
 According to the statistics from 2014/2015 there
were 35 000 children with disabilities educated at
special schools or classes in Slovakia
 Only 5% has finished higher education

5. LINK BETWEEN VOCATIONAL DEPARTMENTS AND
DEMAND ON LABOUR MARKET

6. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
According to the degree of intellectual disability, pupils after finishing
compulsory schooling, which in Slovakia lasts for 10 years or until age
of 16, pupils with intellectual disabilities can prepare for their
profession:
1. at vocational schools – type of school, where educational
programs provide training for the performance of less demanding
work activities for mild intellectually disabled students or students
with mild intellectual disability combined with other (sensory or
physical) disability
2. at practical school – at this type of school the students will not
master vocational apprenticeship.
After graduating students do not receive a vocational certificate, but
the certificate of completion of practical school with focus on help
professions in particular fields under the supervision of a responsible
person – it is for students with moderate intellectual disability who
are not able to attend vocational schools

7. PROFILE OF PRACTICAL SCHOOLS – THEIR
SPECIALISATION
 The profile of a practical school is determined by
selecting optional vocational subject and depends on
material condition of the school and also reflects specific
needs of the region.
 The profile subject can be any of the optional vocational
subjects, their combination or other subjects, that are
focused on mastering simple work sills in sheltered
workshops of the region
 For less skilled graduates of special primary schools –
with moderate intellectual disability, who do not have
predisposition to work in sheltered employment, the
profile subject can be „Housework and housekeeping“
which is focused to prepare students to live in sheltered
accommodation.

8. VOCATIONAL DEPARTEMENTS OF
PRACTICAL SCHOOL
 CARING FOR THE ELDERLY AND SICK
 GARDENING
 KITCHEN SUPPORT WORK
 CRAFTS WORK
 GARDEN SUPPORT WORK AND FLOWER
DESIGN
 WEAVING
 OFFICE SUPPORT WORK

9. VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS FOR INTELLECTUALLY
DISABLED
 Educational programme of vocational schools for
students with intellectual disabilities as established
in accordance with international standards for
classification of education (International Standard
Classification of Education - ISCED 97). ISCED 2
corresponds to lower secondary vocational
education.
 Vocational school is the type of school where
education programs provide training for the
performance of less demanding work activities for
mentally handicapped or mentally disabled students
in combination with other disabilities..

10. VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS DEPARTMENTS:
 Metal work and metal production
 Food production – baker, cook,
 Textile and clothes production - tailor
 Wood production
 Construction work
 Agriculture and forest work
 Shop assistant and other services

11. INCENTIVES OF EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES IN SLOVAKIA
 In Slovakia only few people with disability
work (19%).
 This fact indicates very low ability of Slovak social
system to support and motivate people with
disabilities to work or to actively search for work.
Main income of people with disabilities comes from
state benefits.
 One of the state incentives to support employment
of disabled people is financial contribution towards
establishment of a sheltered workshops or
individual sheltered work placement, which employ
people with disabilities, who are, with such state
support, able to join the job market.

12. SLOVAK SOCIAL SYSTEM
 Slovak social system is unable sufficiently motivate
people with disabilities to search for work. The result of
such policy is high level of dependency of people with
disabilities on social welfare and state benefits.
 Lack of services for disabled and weak financial and
material motivation to look for work are major causes of
a very low rate of employment of disabled people in
Slovakia
 High percentage of unmotivated unemployed people
with disability indicates the inclination of Slovak social
system to take over the responsibility for life condition of
disabled people, rather than establish functional and
systematic employment strategy and let them carry the
responsibility for themselves.

13. SPECIFICS OF SHELTERED EMPLOYMENT AND
SHELTERED WORKSHOPS IN SLOVAKIA

14. SHELTERED WORKSHOPS AND SHELTERED
EMPLOYMENT
 Sheltered workshop and sheltered employment are
workplaces set up by legal entity or personal entity, where
work at least 50% of people with disabilities ,who were unable
to find employment in the open labour market
or
workplaces where people with disabilities are trained for their
profession and the working conditions are adapted to health
conditions of people with disabilities
 Establishment of an individual work place, established and
adapted to individual health condition of a disabled person by
legal or personal entity is also considered sheltered
employment.
 Sheltered employment can be established also at home
environment of a disabled person.

15. STATE INCENTIVES
 Employers, who set up a sheltered
workshop or sheltered workplace, receive a
financial contribution for setting up a
sheltered workshop or sheltered workplace
and a contribution to reimbursement of
additional costs.
 The minimum duration of sheltered
workshop or sheltered workplace supported
by this incentive is at least three years.

16. WORK ASSISTANT
 Employers who employ a person with disability or a self-
employed persons with disability are eligible to receive
a financial contribution for a personal work assistant.
 Work assistant is:
an employee, who provides support to employee
/employees with disabilities when they carry out their work
duties and help with their personal needs during work time
or
a person who provides support to a self-employed person
with disability in order to carry out their work.

17. REALITY IN SLOVAKIA
 There is no functional an systematic link between
practical schools and vocational schools for intellectualy
disabled and demand at labour market. Sheltered
workshops and sheltered employment are established
unorganized by mostly non-profit or non-govermental
organisations, which are orientated at help and support
of people with disabilities. These organisations are
mostly founded by parents or relatives of people with
disabilities.
 The work profile of the sheltered workshop is then
selected according the ability of individuals and takes
into account the needs and possibilities of the region in
order to survive among the competition of other shelterd
workshops.

18. OTHER STATE INCENTIVES TO SUPPORT
EMPLOYMENT OF DISABLED
 In Slovakia employers which employ 50 employees
must employ at least 1 person with disability or if
not, they must support the sheltered workshop by
using their services or buying their products or they
pay the fine.
 Many employers choose to pay the fine over other
option either because they have no information
about sheltered workshops and their products or
services or simply because it is easier to pay the
fine which is not very high and does not have much
effect on the employer.

19. SUMMARY
 There is not effective and systematic approach to find
solutions to support transition of people with intellectual
disabilities into a labour market.
 Neither Vocational schools nor Practical schools reflect real
demand of labour market and they are established in
accordance with possibilities of the school.
 Despite the state incentives such as financial contributions
and benefits towards establishments of sheltered workshops
and employment, they are mostly established by non-profit
organisations founded by parents and they often struggle to
survive in the competition of labour market.
 Other significant setback is insufficient vocational education
for intellectually disabled, where the schools educate in such
vocations which do not reflect the real demand of labour
market.

20. EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE – SHELTERED
WORKSHOPS IN SLOVAKIA
Betánia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMctzeFiVMk
Dom Svitania:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzPlH7JhiUM
Dúha:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4HOWXxLixU
Prima:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tq77DIAirk
Barlička:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez6W4LD1-ng

21. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION