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Introducing more flexible working methods adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities

Results of the public call for sheltered companies and employment centers

A person in a wheelchair is sitting at a desk and typing on a laptop
The European Union has established a Recovery and Resilience Facility to mitigate the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and to support the recovery and resilience of EU Member States' economies. Within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Ministry issued a Public tender for sheltered workshops and employment centres with consultants for the introduction of more flexible working methods adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. These companies are of particular importance since they employ vulnerable groups with specific needs.

The aim of the public tender was to finance projects for sheltered workshops and employment centres for the design and implementation of individual plans for  developing new business models according to the needs of individual sheltered workshops and employment centres (optimisation of operations, updating of internal documents, plan for adapting work processes, etc.) and, given the changing business environment, introducing changes with new technologies (digitalisation) and introducing more flexible ways of working.

One of the aims of the public tender was also the preparation of career development plans and targeted education and training for employees with disabilities and other employees who cooperate with people with disabilities during their work process.

Taking into account the specific objectives, the public tender was divided into two stages:

Stage I:

  • performing an analysis of the business model status,
  • preparing a set of measures for business model improvement,
  • drawing up an individual plan for business model update and work process adjustment,
  • providing advice for updating internal documents and optimising operations at the market presence level.

Stage II

  • drawing up individual career development plans for disabled employees,
  • organising a set of targeted training and education events for people with disabilities, other employees and employers, with an emphasis on balancing professional and private life and improving digital competences,
  • implementation of targeted education and training for people with disabilities and other employees, as well as employers.

Specific activity only for Set 1 (sheltered workshops):

  • providing psychosocial support to people with disabilities involved.

All project activities have been implemented by a total of 37 businesses (23 sheltered workshops and 14 employment centres). Slovenia has therefore successfully reached the milestone set by the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The evaluation of the public tender, carried out by an external, independent contractor, showed positive effects on the businesses involved in the project. The evaluation shows that sheltered workshops primarily need development solutions to strengthen their economic resilience while protecting the working environment for disabled people. While employment centres need support in strategic maturation and organisational stability so that they can carry out their social role in the long term and in a quality manner.

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