"TARGET( people with disabilities)•People with disabilities account for 10-12% of the world's population.•0,1% of European citizens (740.000) are now living with Inettllectual disdabilities (ID) •Prevalence of people with Down Syndrome, commonest (15-20%) identifiable cause of ID - is 1/2000: 370.000, in Europe. Their average life expectancy has increased; it is now around 60.•The right to work is getting crucial to ensure their independent living and self-determination. People with ID face a much higher unemployment rate than the rate applied to the general population. •Furthermore, the vast majority have never experienced any form of vocational training and this is a further limit to their access to the labour market.THE VALUEABLE NETWORKThis proposal follows two Erasmus projects which have set up and developed the Valueable network , which is now present in 6 countries and counts on more than 100 member hospitality companies, that host internships and/or hire people with intellectual disabilities. OBJECTIVESGeneral objective•Enhancing the access of European citizens with ID to VET and employment in the hospitality sector, through long- lasting collaborative partnership between VET agencies and employers Purpose•Enhanced access to training and employment opportunities through the European Valueable network in the hospitality sector.•Increased capacity of both VET providers and hospitality companies to operate together Outputs•One protocol for the involvement of large hotel/rest chains in the Valueable network as facilitators of job inclusion.•One protocol to strengthen partnerships between VET providers and hospitality organisations;•Two tools to enhance the access to training (HACCP and EUROPASS adapted) PARTICIPANTSIn addition to the 11 contact persons of the partner organisations, who will be the core of the network and will exchange ideas, methods and practice about job inclusion of people with ID in the hospitality sector, there will be at least 36 participants in training activities. 24 of them will be people with ID and the other 12 will be VET professionals. ACTIVITIES1)Design, development and testing of:a. a protocol for the involvement of large hotel/restaurant chains in the Valueable network.b. an accreditation protocol for would- be Valueable VET providers with learning resources attached.c. HACCP training scheme, adapted to the profile of trainees and workers with id, in agreement with hospitality companies and certification entities. Adoption by network members for any trainee/worker included by them.d.Revised Europass set of documents, in accordance with National Europass centres and adapted to the features of people with ID, in terms of language and ranking.2) E learning of hospitality staff3)Internships of people with ID in hospitality companies4)Blended learning of VET professionalsMETHODOLOGY•Developing the outputs, according to the same process: background analysis, design of the prototype and presentation at the meeting of the partnership, development of a prototype, field pilot testing (limited within the partnership), evaluation of the pilot, extended testing.•Field testing through internships and work experiences of people with ID at “home” and abroad in hospitality companies, with decreasing tutorship.•Evaluation of the impact since the beginning of the project.•Use of easy- to- read resources for people with IDRESULTS AND IMPACTHOSPITALITY COMPANIES Increased awareness of both large chains and individual hospitality companies about providing people with ID with training opportunities.VET PROVIDERS Enlarged scope, ""horizons"" of new accredited VET providers to set up an internship , in collaboration with hospitality companies. VALUEABLE NETWORK. Extended (10 countries, 200 subscribers) 1)Geographical enlargement of the Valueable network, aimed at including people with id in European hotels and restaurants.2)Increased number of Valueable companies. 3)Increased number of accredited VET providers.4)Increased number of people with id trained and hired.STAFF VET professionals : increased pedagogical and organisational skills . Hotel staff: raised awareness of training skills and needs of people with intellectual disabilities .PEOPLE WITH IDa)Enhanced independence and social skillsb)Improved employabilityc)Better professional skills.d)Enhanced curricula vitaeImpacts in the following areas:a)Increased knowledge and awareness about intellectual disability-related issuesb)Long-term positive economic and social impactsc)Long-term improvement of attitudes of different stakeholders (hospitality managers and entrepreneurs, employees and citizens in general) toward people with ID"

"<< Background >>BASIC IDEA.People with intellectual disabilities are discriminated and marginalised. Covid 19 has worsened their condition and their digital exclusion is even more evident.The e-learning course about health and safety at work, developed thanks to this proposal, will help them to get basic skills at home or at the training centre with their tutors, with or without pandemic crisis. In this way, they will increase their employability also with a facilitated access as trainees or workers in the hospitality companies of the Valueable network, which is proposed as the already consolidated framework of the testing activities, with internships duly prepared and managed. The e-learning course will be included in the set of tools aimed at supporting a successful job inclusion.CONTEXT.A hard situation which risks to get worse because of the pandemic.THE TARGET GROUP: PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES (ID)a) People with disabilities account for 10-12% of the world's population.b) 0,1% of European citizens (740.000) are now living with ID.c) Prevalence of people with Down Syndrome (Ds), commonest (15-20%) identifiable cause of ID, is 1/2000: 370.000, in Europe. Their average life expectancy has increased; it is now around 60.THE RIGHT TO VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND TO WORK.People with ID face a much higher unemployment rate than the rate applied to the general population.The right to work is getting crucial to ensure their independent living and self-determination.Furthermore, the vast majority has never experienced any form of vocational training and this is an extra limit to their access to the labour market.SAFETY AT WORK.The lack of adequate training on health and safety could be used as an excuse to justify discrimination against people with disabilities. There are no health and safety regulations specific to people with disabilities .DIGITAL EDUCATION.Training systems for people with ID are not equipped to face the challenges presented by the shift to online and distance learning, as it is happening very fast across Europe, also due to COVID-19.RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH ID IN THE COVID-19 CRISIS.The EU Parliament resolution (July 2020) highlights how the COVID-19 has shown that inclusive education is not yet a reality, in particular with regard to accessible digital and innovative technologies and distance-learning applications.Lock down greatly affected the mental health of persons with ID and their relatives, which requests measures adapted to their needs to ensure their well-being and independent living and not to become further isolated.NEEDS.When employed, workers with ID are among the most vulnerable. There are almost no examples of Health and safety training being provided to workers with ID in a manner they can understand.Vocational training for people with ID has been carried out exclusively through face to face or on the spot activities. The lock-down period has highlighted how the time ""suspended"" both in training and at work could be quickly turned into digital mode. However, people with ID have been struggling to cope with the poor or total lack of accessibility to digital education, particularly in vocational training.<< Objectives >>OVERALL OBJECTIVE:Promoting the social and professional inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities especially- but not only - in hard times of pandemic, when they risk to be further marginalised.PURPOSE:Enhancing the access of at least 84 European trainees/workers with ID to VET and employment in the hospitality sector, through a tailored and digitalised vocational training spread by the Valueablenetwork.<< Implementation >>ACTIVITIES.Design and development of e-learning course on “Health and safety at work” for (potential) workers with ID.Field testing of the e-learning course by trainees/workers with ID, who will have internships at Valueable hospitality companies on a local level and abroad.METHODS.1) Development of the PROJECT RESULTt: background analysis, design of the prototype and presentation at the meeting of the partnership, development of the prototype, field testing (limited within thepartnership) and its evaluation, extended testing.2) TESTING through internships and work experiences of people with ID at local level and abroad, in hospitality companies, with decreasing tutorship.3) VOCATIONAL TRAINING ACTIVITIES which: a) deploy digital tools and methods to deliver quality and inclusive education (e-learning course); b) incorporate digital online technology into subjectspecific(health and safety at work) training and work-based learning.4) Use of easy-to-understand (ETU) resources for people with ID. English ETU contents of the e-learning course will be analysed through the ""Flesch Index"", a specific software, tomeasure contents readability, usability and accessibility.<< Results >>PROJECT RESULT:The digital “Health and safety at work” course, in ETU format, in 8 languages (English-master, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, Croatian, Turkish), tested by at least 84 people with ID (12 people with ID per VET provider) from 7 European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Turkey).OUTCOMES AND IMPACT:People with ID:a) increased empowermentb) increased digital skillsc) increased job inclusion opportunities.VET providers:a) increased competences in supporting job inclusion of ID workersb) increased digital educational skills.Hospitality companies:increased knowledge and awareness ID-related issues.POTENTIAL LONG-TERM BENEFITSa) Long-term more effective VET of people with ID.b) Long-term improvement of attitudes of different stakeholders (hospitality managers and entrepreneurs, employees and citizens in general) towardS people with ID.c) Long-term positive economic and social impacts."