Creating equal work opportunities for the disabled

This year’s edition of the REHMED-PLUS trade fair will be the venue for the meeting organised by the Kielce Regional Centre of the European Social Fund. The meeting’s objective is to create a wide cooperation platform designed for the bodies which work for the disabled as well as associations of the disabled with entities which realise projects in the scope of the Human Capital Regional Programme, including social integration schemes.

The idea to foster this cooperation has been based on the diagnosis and observations performed by the Regional ESF Centre personnel; it has been discovered that the bodies which implement and realise projects in the scope of Human Capital Regional Programmes among the disabled are not active enough. The milieus of the disabled demonstrate extensive needs as they are not very active in their social and professional life and on the top of that they also have to struggle with stereotypical attitudes of employers. The reason for a small number of applications for the HC OP’s stems from the fact that these bodies do not have enough personnel dedicated to HC OP applications and the personnel lacks qualifications and experience in this kind of activities. There are also instances of such bodies, first and foremost the non governmental organisations, which feel concern for their insufficient knowledge and experience in application preparation and proper project realisation. The entities which demonstrate considerable experience in realisation of the projects subsidised from European Social Fund have been invited to join the cooperation platform in order to change this negative image associated with HC OP; these bodies also have expertise, knowledge and human resources. This should result in preparation of good and effective applications which also take into consideration the specific needs of particular disadvantaged groups. This cooperation, in a longer perspective, should translate into efficiency increase with regards to the measure taken for the benefit of the disabled who live in our voivodeship, to enhance their social and professional activity and to change the employers’ perception of the handicapped employees as they should be regarded as fully competent and efficient workers who are capable of carrying out responsible tasks.

Now it is the right time to conduct trainings on social and professional activation of the disabled. This year marks the first call for applications to provide support for the disabled (measure 7.4 of the HC OP). The requirements specified by the competition documentation make the obligation for the applicants to have a good insight into the needs and objectives of particular groups of the disabled in order for them to prepare a good project.

Representatives of the Kielce District Employment Office, the Municipal Centre for Family Support, the Kielce Diocese Caritas (including the Catholic Association of the Disabled Person and their Families “Our Home” in Piekoszów), the Kielce Vocational Training Centre, Polish Committee for Social Support, the Family Hope Association, the Family Hope Foundation, Polish Association for the Benefit of Mentally Disabled Persons – Kielce Division, the International House Elżbieta Wojsa , Kielce Association of Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Alliance of Social Integration Friends “Phoenics”, the Pro Civitas Association, the “Razem” Association, the Association for Professional Activation of the Handicapped “Where is the Will there is the Way” will be joining the initiative. The invitations have also been issued for representatives of Swietokrzyskie Regional Development Office; the Human Capital Operational Programme Bureau which is the first level intermediary instituting in Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship.