Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme
About the Workability Programme
South Kerry Development Partnership CLG implements the Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme (2024 – 2028) in the South Kerry Area.
The WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme is an employment focused programme which aims to support disabled people to enter education and employment.
The programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) under Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training Programme (EIST) 2021-2027 and the Department of Social Protection, and will be administered by Pobal.
The primary purpose of the funding is to provide disabled people with the opportunity to gain and sustain employment/self-employment or to access education and training to improve their employment prospects.
Aim of the Workability Programme
The aim of Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme is to support up to 5,000 people nationally with disabilities to progress their employment ambitions over its lifetime. The Workability programme incorporates a strong focus on employer engagement, raising employers’ awareness and building their capacity to recruit, retain and progress people with disabilities in their workplace.
The aim of the programme is to ensure people with disabilities are fully supported to find and maintain employment and organisations who employ programme participants are supported to ensure that their employment is successful.
Objectives of Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme
The Workability Programme has the following three specific Objectives
- To improve the employment prospects of people with disabilities who are currently distant from the labour market.
- To build the capacity of employers to recruit, retain and progress people with disabilities within their workforce.
- To facilitate new partnerships amongst stakeholders (people with disabilities, disability services, employment services and employers) and new approaches to providing employment supports to people with disabilities.
Workability Funding
The Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills, and Training Programme (EIST) 2021-2027 and the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and is administered by Pobal.
Under the EIST Programme WorkAbility sits under Priority 1: Employment – Specific Objective (a):
‘Improving access to employment and activation measures for all jobseekers, in particular young people, especially through the implementation of the Youth Guarantee, for long term unemployed and disadvantaged groups on the labour market, and for inactive people, as well as through the promotion of self-employment and the social economy.’
Workability Target Groups
The Programme is aimed at people with disabilities aged 16 years and older who are currently not work ready and/or are distant from the labour market. The programme supports projects that use person-centred approaches to provide progressive pathways into education, training, and employment (including self-employment) for participants based on their needs, their abilities, and their potential.
To participate and receive supports from a WorkAbility funded project individuals must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Identify as having a disability/being disabled (as per the definition – see below)
- Aged 16 years or older at the time of registration with no upper age limit
Self-Declaration of Disability
For the purpose of the WorkAbility Programme, participants with a disability are defined under the EIST Programme, as persons with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. It should be considered if the participant has any one of the following long-lasting conditions:
- Blindness or a serious vision impairment
- Deafness or a severe hearing impairment
- Difficulty with basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting or carrying
- An intellectual disability
- A difficulty with learning, remembering or concentrating
- A psychological or emotional condition
- A difficulty with pain, breathing or any other chronic illness or condition
In addition to the above, a person is classified as being disabled if they encounter difficulties performing any of the following activities:
- Dressing, bathing or getting around inside the home (self-care disability)
- Going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor’s surgery (going outside the home disability)
- Working at a job or business or attending school or college (employment disability)
- Participating in other activities, such as leisure or using transport
Workability Programme Timeframe
The duration of the Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme is for a maximum of 60 months, from 1st January 2024 to 31st December 2028. Continued funding is subject to compliance with our grant agreement and the submission and approval by Pobal of bi-annual financial reports and annual progress reports submitted by SKDP.
South Kerry Development Partnership CLG – Workability Coverage in South Kerry
South Kerry Development Partnership delivers the Workability Programme in the SKDP – South Kerry geographic area of coverage as set out in the map below.
Further Information on Workability Programme in South Kerry
For further information on the Workability Programme in South Kerry, please contact Joseph McCrohan, Workability Programme Manager, South Kerry Development Partnership CLG, West Main Street, Cahersiveen, Co Kerry.
Tel: 066 9472724
Email: [email protected]
Data Privacy Notice – Workability Programme
Personal client privacy is of the utmost importance to SKDP in the successful delivery of the Workability Programme. Information that may be made available to SKDP as part of Workability Programme will include Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data, as defined in the Data Protection Acts 1988 – 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). SKDP Workability staff are bound by confidentiality and are aware of their responsibilities set out under data protection and other relevant legislation. Appropriate technical and organisation means are in place to ensure any personal data processed by SKDP is kept confidential.
SKDP are required to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Acts (1988-2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation when collecting, handling and storing personal data, which is made available through the delivery, management and administration of our Workability Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme grant.
The personal data can be used by SKDP solely for the purposes of providing the Workability services on behalf of the Data Controller and in accordance with the terms of the Data Privacy notice.
Please click on the link below for the Workability: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme