'Operatie Pelios', the project for occupationally disabled employees

Introduction:

For people with an occupational disability it is often difficult to find a job on their own. Lack of working experience or having lost the ability to work can be the reason for this. This group of people is frequently put aside as if they are hopeless cases. However, when this group is offered good training and sufficient coaching, a number of people can actually go (back) to work. In other words: these people do have capabilities and possibilities. Especially for this group of occupationally disabled people who want to work (again) the Operatie Pelios project was developed.

What happens at Operatie Pelios:

• People start with a training that is aimed at work (30 sessions, 2 sessions a week). Every participant is also offered intensive, individual coaching from a personal coach from the start of the training. In this period the focus lies on accepting one's limitations and discovering possibilities and qualities, on social training and assertivity training, on determining the right kind of work and on learning to apply for work.
• After the training, the participant, together with the personal coach, starts looking for a relevant internship. During this internship the intensive coaching by the personal coach continues. It's different for every participant how long an internship will take.
• After one or more internships a regular job is searched for, that is: for every participant who is ready for it. In this new job, the personal coach again offers help and support. In this stage of the project, one of the three financial reintegration strategies is also applied.

Reintegration strategies

The occupationally disabled participants in Operatie Pelios find a regular job according to on e of three reintegration strategies. In these strategies, several financial methods are being applied to find an employer for the participants: the employer receives subsidy and is supported in the necessary arrangements for his new employee. In this project, the current arrangements for occupationally disabled employees (the Rea Law) is compared to two innovative financial strategies: the Prohef model, which mainly supports employers in the costs for occupationally disabled employees, and the Self-Search model, which offers the occupationally disabled participant a budget for finding or maintaining a job. Operatie Pelios wants to find out which of these strategies is the most successful and the best applicable.

Click here for more information about the three reintegration strategies.

About the occupationally disabled participants:

One hundred people could start with this project. Because of dropout eventually 99 participants are left. This project is meant for:

• people with impairments according to the autism spectrum (like PDD-NOS, Asperger syndrome);
• people with impairments according to the spectrum of attention deficiencies (like ADHD and ADD);
• people with (severe) physical impairment(s);
• people with (psycho-)social handicaps;
• people with psychological impairments;
• people suffering from a chronical disease.

Conditions for participating in the project:

• The participant must be motivated to participate in the project;
• The participant must be willing to find a job eventually;
• The participant has at least followed some classes after boarding school;
• The participant has been without paid work for more than one year;
• The participant is between 18 and 50 years old;
• The participant must officially be registered as occupationally disabled. The participant receives an alimony from UWV (Execution of Employee Insurances), from Social Services or is indicated for Social Work Provision Service.

The project is open to both men and women, and for locals as well as immigrants.

Duration of the project:

The project started at March 1st, 2003 and was to expire at November 14, 2004. However, Operatie Pelios asked for prolongation and was allowed so until May 15, 2005.

Participation costs:

Participants don't need to pay for the project. The project is funded by the European Social Fund and Equal, and by co-financing and/or cooperation from the following partners:

• Toeleiding naar Arbeid
• UWV (Execution of Employee Insurances)
• Province of Groningen (requestor)
• Noorderpoortcollege (Center for Vocational Education)
• Municipalities of Groningen, Leek en Hoogezand
• DSW Stadspark (municipal Social Work Provision Service in Stadspark, Groningen)
• Groningen State University
• R.A.P. (Regional Labour Market Platform Groningen)
• Prohef Foundation
• "Budget in Vervoering" Foundation
• Centrum voor Arbeid en Beleid (CAB; Centre for Labour and Policy) Groningen
• HPB Advice & Finance, Leek
• ROC Alfa College (Center for Vocational Education)
• ROC Menso Alting College (Center for Vocational Education)
• AOC Terra (Center for Agricultural Education)
• Hanzehogeschool Groningen (Academy for Vocational Education)

Training educational mentors and employers:

To bridge the gap between occupationally disabled people and employers, Operatie Pelios also offers training and coaching to 100 employers and mentors from educational institutes. These participants will be trained in the coaching of occupationally disabled people and other relevant subjects. Click here for more information.

Application:

It is no longer possible for occupationaly disabled people to apply for the project. The last training group has finished now.