SUPPORT Project Brought the Supported Employment Perspective to Enterprising for Tomorrow 2026

SUPPORT Project Brought the Supported Employment Perspective to Enterprising for Tomorrow 2026

Article written by ADV Romania, SUPPORT Project Partner

At Enterprising for Tomorrow 2026, the leading social economy event in Eastern Europe, organised by ADV Romania Group, inclusion was approached as a practical framework for building better services, stronger communities and more accessible labour markets.

One of the projects that contributed to this conversation was SUPPORT – Supported Employment for Reducing Long-Term Unemployment among Persons with Disabilities – a European initiative focused on reducing long-term unemployment among persons with disabilities through supported employment.

The project was connected to one of the key moments of the conference: the panel ‘One-Stop Shop for Accessibility and Social Inclusion‘. The discussion brought together representatives of NGOs and international organisations working in areas such as inclusion, accessibility, refugee support, community-based services and cross-border cooperation, together with social entrepreneurs who create employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The panel also included Cristina Căluianu, National Expert for Romania at the European Accessibility Resource Centre AccessibleEU, bringing an important perspective on accessibility as a European priority.

The SUPPORT project highlights a reality that still needs stronger public attention: access to employment is shaped by more than the existence of job vacancies. For many persons with disabilities, employment depends on personalised guidance, adapted services, trust-building with employers, job coaching and long-term support after placement. This is why supported employment is such an important model. It places the person, the employer and the support system in the same process, creating the conditions for real inclusion in the open labour market.

This perspective was highly relevant for Enterprising for Tomorrow because the conference connects policy, practice, finance, entrepreneurship and inclusion. Through the SUPPORT project, the conversation gained a strong labour market dimension, showing that accessibility must also be reflected in recruitment, workplace culture, human resources policies and the way employers are prepared to include people with disabilities in meaningful and sustainable jobs.

The project also strengthened the conference’s focus on one-stop-shop models. In practice, people facing complex barriers rarely need one isolated service. They need coordinated support: assessment, counselling, mediation, employer engagement, job coaching, follow-up and connections with community-based services. SUPPORT contributes to this broader vision by promoting cooperation between employment agencies, local authorities, employers and service providers for persons with disabilities.

For ADV Romania, the project is closely connected to its long-term work through JobDirect, the first job placement and workplace support agency in Romania dedicated to persons with disabilities, developed within ADV Romania Group. By bringing the SUPPORT project into the conference, ADV Romania continued to connect European innovation with local practice and to position employment as a central pillar of social inclusion.

The SUPPORT project helped underline one of the strongest messages of the conference: an inclusive economy is built when persons with disabilities receive the right support to access the labour market, remain employed, grow professionally and be valued for their contribution.

To learn more about SUPPORT, visit the project webpage here.