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Work-based Entrepreneurship Training for People with Disabilities
Start date: Dec 1, 2016, End date: May 31, 2019 PROJECT  FINISHED 

4 million jobs have been lost in Europe due to the Big Economic Crisis started in 2008. People with disabilities have been hit hard, and risks of being marginalized in the labor market raised further. Policies should deliver a response, and one of the under-explored avenues is action for entrepreneurship and self-employment.In the EU only 47% of persons with disabilities are employed compared to 72% of persons without disabilities. At national level employment rates can be so low as the 20% in Croatia. The employment of people with disabilities differs also according to gender, the rate of women with disabilities in OECD countries is only 19.6%.Inclusive entrepreneurship is about a set of attitudes, competences and skills which allow people to turn their dreams into concrete projects or “enterprises”. It is about more than starting a real business. Inclusive entrepreneurship can be applied to self-employment, free lancing, starting or growing micro or small enterprises and to social enterprise using business based approaches driven by social mission. Indeed the personal qualities required for entrepreneurship are essential for success in the knowledge economy. The use of the word 'inclusive' indicates a belief that entrepreneurship is for all and that the personal qualities and conditions required for entrepreneurship and self-employment are not the prerogative of a privileged, highly educated few. Inclusive entrepreneurship involves understanding and then overcoming the barriers faced by people. It is about unleashing the creative potential that people have within them and using this to create a more sustainable future for all.The aim of this project is to promote inclusive entrepreneurship for people with disabilities by developing a methodology based on job shadowing, mentoring and coaching of people with physical disabilities willing to become entrepreneurs or freelances. Mentoring will be carried out on the workplace preferably by entrepreneurs and freelances with a physical disability, coaching by partners’ staff. The desired outcome of the project is a number of people with physical disabilities will start a business or a freelance activity, or cooperating in managerial positions in already established business or consulting companies.This project is submitted by a consortium of 5 organizations (2 from PL, then IT, ES, FR) already working with people with disabilities to help them in returning to labor market through training and guidance services.Thanks to the project, over 9.000 members of target groups will be informed about the project, and 200 people with physical disabilities and 100 trainers and entrepreneurs and freelances will be involved on it. Long term benefits will be the availability of a new methodology and related tools to promote the development of sense of initiative and entrepreneurship in people with physical disabilities, based on mentoring on the workplace and a higher entrepreneurial and freelancing rate among people with physical disability.
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