VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING FOR INCLUSION: The Inclusion Of Rare Disease Associations In Vocational Education And VET Students In Working With People With Rare Diseases

Coordinator: Fundacion Isabel Gemio (Spain)

Partners:

• Federación Española de Enfermedades Neuromusculares (Spain)
• Rare Diseases Croatia
• University Evora (Portugal)
• C.A.R.D. – Cyprus Alliance for Rare Disordes (Cyprus)
• Fundacion Plaza de los oficios (Spain)

Project purpose: The purpose of the project is to build a more inclusive vocational education system that provides students with specific knowledge and practical experience in working with rare diseases (including vocational education centers, organizations in the field of social care and healthcare), as well as to conduct research that contributes to improving the lives of thousands of young people across Europe.

Project duration: 1.9.2024 – 30.9.2026.

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The kick-off meeting of Erasmus+ VET for Inclusion has been held with the following objectives:

• Promote changes in the structure, working methods, training of technicians and daily practices to encourage RD associations to offer greater direct services to their users, enhancing digitalization, green practices, inclusion and the full development of their users
• Enhance the work experience and practical knowledge of students from the medical and social families of vocational training so that they are able to care for people with RD and access this labour market.
• Promote real changes in VET centres to turn them into real agents for inclusion, both through the work of their trainees and by encouraging students with disabilities to access adapted internships, and by promoting green and digital internships in their centres.
• Implement a system of internships in collaboration with VET schools to offer their users adapted services implemented by technicians with specific expertise, involving VET and RD schools across Europe.

Coordinated by the Isabel Gemio Foundation and co-funded by the European Union, this new initiative is a partnership with the Federación Española de Enfermedades Neuromusculares (Spain), Fundación Escuela de los Oficios (Spain), Universidade de Évora (Portugal), Cyprus Alliance For Rare Diseases (Cyprus) and Rare Diseases Croatia (Croatia) as partners.

This partnership will focus its efforts to work together on the development of the following outputs that make up the project

• Methodological guide for the adaptation of social and health entities to host internships for vocational training students
• Resurse za osposobljavanje zdravstvenih djelatnika i udruga za rijetke bolesti kao učitelja/instruktora
• Virtual training course for trainees
• Guide for the creation of inclusive internships in vocational training
• Rare diseases technician card
• Network of rare diseases associations and vocational training centres
• VET for inclusion web platform

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On October 22, the Erasmus+ project partnership La FP por la inclusión (Vocational Training for Inclusion), co-funded by the European Union, held a new meeting in which partners presented their different ideas on how to structure the project's first deliverable, the Methodological Guide, as well as different ideas for organizing the second deliverable, the resources for technicians and healthcare associations. In addition, a dialogue was initiated on how to structure outcome 5, the virtual course for training students on work placements.

In this way, the project involves various stakeholders: social and health organizations, vocational training students and technicians, and health personnel from rare disease associations.

In upcoming meetings, the partnership, made up of the Isabel Gemio Foundation, the ASEM Federation, the Cyprus Alliance of Rare Disorders, Rare Diseases Croatia, the University of Évora, and the Escuela de Oficios Foundation, will continue working on the development of the intellectual outputs.

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The project “Vocational Education for Inclusion” is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. The content of this website is the sole responsibility of the Croatian Alliance for Rare Diseases, and the European Commission and the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE) are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.