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STEP-UP DEP – Supporting Inclusive Transitions & Employment Pathways to Unlock Potential via DEP Implementation

STEP-UP DEP is a two-year project that helps people with intellectual disabilities move from sheltered workshops into the open labour market. It also helps employers provide the reasonable accommodation that makes those jobs work.

The project supports the implementation of the EU Disability Employment Package (DEP). It takes two proven inclusive employment models, Samhall (Sweden) and Fundació Espurna (Spain), and adapts them for use in four EU Member States: Belgium (Flanders), Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania. Public authorities, service providers, employers and persons with intellectual disabilities work together as equal partners, so the models fit each local context.

The project works along three axes:

  • Outplacement pathways. Structured, person-centred routes from sheltered employment to the open labour market. People gain real work experience with employers while keeping the support of their original organisation.
  • Reasonable accommodation. Practical tools and training so that employers treat accommodation as a foundation of inclusive employment, not an optional extra.
  • Policy uptake. National DEP Working Groups, policy dialogues and national strategies and roadmaps, so the results outlast the project.

Background

Employment gaps between persons with and without disabilities remain large across the EU. The DEP also points to a deeper problem: many persons with intellectual disabilities who do have a job stay in sheltered workshops or segregated settings. There they have little room for autonomy, career progression or inclusion in the open labour market. Transition rates from sheltered employment to the open labour market are often below 1%.

Existing measures such as job coach allowances, hiring quotas and employer incentive schemes are used less than they could be. The reasons are prejudice, weak collaboration between stakeholders, and a lack of structured, person-centred pathways. Employers are legally required to provide reasonable accommodation, yet many do not use the support available. They are unsure what it involves, lack clear legal guidance and lack sector-specific advice. The result is missed opportunities for inclusive hiring.

Public authorities, for their part, often struggle to turn EU policy into action locally.

Objectives

  1. Strengthen the conditions for inclusive employment of persons with intellectual disabilities in the open labour market by scaling up models that have proven they can bridge sheltered and mainstream work.
  2. Build the capacity of service providers, employers and public authorities to run sustainable outplacement and to provide reasonable accommodation. Each country focuses on a specific economic sector.
  3. Foster cross-sector collaboration and mutual understanding of roles, challenges and perspectives among all stakeholders, so that solutions are co-created.
  4. Bridge the gap between practice and policy by turning the DEP into actionable, rights-based national and regional policies.

What we will do

  • Understand the needs. Surveys, focus groups and interviews with employers, service providers, public authorities and persons with intellectual disabilities. Stakeholder mapping, national DEP Working Groups, and a co-designed National Adaptation Plan in each country;
  • Build capacity. A multilingual Digital Training Hub, an Operational Procedures Toolkit on Reasonable Accommodation for employers, a Train-the-Trainer programme, and preparation and matching for outplacement;
  • Test it in practice. Pilots in all four countries, with job coaching, on-the-job training, reasonable accommodation and employer engagement in place;
  • Change policy. A study visit hosted by Samhall, a European webinar, national policy dialogues, an online workshop for local authorities, and national strategies and roadmaps for DEP implementation;
  • Learn and improve. A monitoring and evaluation framework, regular reflection sessions, and participation in European mutual learning events.

Expected results

Reach and outputs

  • 90 persons with intellectual disabilities start an outplacement in the open labour market, with an individual placement plan each (25 each in Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania, 15 in Cyprus).
  • 100 employer representatives trained on inclusive HR practice and reasonable accommodation.
  • 40 trainers (employment support professionals) trained through the Train-the-Trainer programme.
  • 4 National DEP Working Groups, one per country.
  • 4 National Adaptation Plans, 4 country needs assessment reports and 4 stakeholder maps.
  • 1 Digital Training Hub with 15 videos, and an Employer Toolkit on Reasonable Accommodation, available in English, Dutch, Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian.
  • 4 pilot reports with evidence on what works.
  • 4 National Strategies for DEP implementation and 4 Roadmaps, co-created with public authorities.
  • 4 national policy dialogues (120 participants), an online policy workshop for local authorities, and a transnational study visit.

Expected change

  • Smoother, more person-centred transitions from sheltered employment to the open labour market.
  • Employers who treat reasonable accommodation as a standard part of HR management.
  • Public authorities who formally commit to DEP measures in national and regional employment strategies.
  • Permanent national platforms where authorities, service providers, employers and persons with intellectual disabilities work together.
  • Less reliance on segregated employment, and fewer stereotypes about productivity and the cost of accommodation.

Partners

The project is coordinated by Disability Support Europe (Belgium), and is implemented together with 17 other organisations:

Associated partners 

Contacts

  • Benedetta Pesce, Projects and Events Officer, European Platform for Rehabilitation: bpesce@epr.eu
  • Caroline Ernoult, Projects and Communications Officer, European Platform for Rehabilitation: cernoult@epr.eu