OB1
Empower VET trainers
Empower VET trainers with the right competences, strategies, and digital tools to effectively guide and support company tutors.
About
A European standard for inclusive work placements
PATCH — Place and Train for the inclusion in catering and hospitality sector of people with cognitive disabilities — is a 36-month Erasmus+ cooperation partnership in vocational education and training.
Why PATCH
About 101 million people in the EU live with some form of disability, and a considerable proportion have limited cognitive abilities, which makes their employment integration particularly challenging. Only 50.8% of disabled people aged 20-64 are employed, compared with 75% of non-disabled people.
The catering and hospitality sector is typically more accommodating for placing people with cognitive disabilities. Several public employment services in Europe are experimenting with the "place and train" method: the person is placed in a company and trained directly by a company tutor, while a VET trainer monitors the progress and supports the tutor.
However, there is no standardised method to train those VET trainers, no standard preparation for the company tutors and no shared tools to monitor and evaluate the performance of workers with special needs. PATCH addresses exactly this gap.
Objectives
OB2
Design innovative training methods and materials
Design innovative training methods and materials that help company tutors successfully include and train people with special needs (SNs) in real workplace environments.
OB3
Establish a skills recognition system
Establish a transparent and credible skills recognition system, using micro-credentials to evaluate, validate, and celebrate the abilities of individuals with cognitive disabilities.
OB4
Promote long-term impact
Promote long-term impact by encouraging the adoption of PATCH's results and best practices within the VET systems of all partner organizations and beyond.
Target groups
Direct target groups
- VET trainers
- Company tutors in hospitality and catering
Indirect target groups
- People with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities
- Entrepreneurs in hospitality and catering
- Public authorities in charge of work placement
- Public authorities in charge of skills recognition