Programme: Erasmus+
Key Action: Partnerships for cooperation and exchanges of practices
Action Type: Cooperation partnerships in youth
Project Identifier: 2024-2-LV02-KA220-YOU-000291528
Project Title: Youth work for employability of youngsters with autistic spectrum
Topics: Employability, Overcoming skills mismatch and addressing the needs of the labour market, Disabilities
Results Platform Project Card:
https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/2024-2-LV02-KA220-YOU-000291528
Funded by: the Latvian National Agency for the management of the Erasmus+ Youth in Action programme (“Jaunatnes starptautisko programmu aģentūra”).
Project partners are:
- Latvijas Autisma apvieniba, Latvia
- LINK DMT s.r.l.; Italy
- Centre for Non-formal education and Lifelong learning; Serbia
- Fondazione Don Giovanni Zanandrea Onlus. Italy
Project duration: 18 months – from 01/04/2025 till 30/09/2026.
Summary of the project:
The motivation for our project comes from a need observed across Latvia, Italy and Serbia: the integration and accessibility of youth with autism in the labour market. We want to address this issue by training educators and youth workers and preparing society and the working environment for the effective inclusion of individuals with autism. Research indicates that young people with autism have significantly lower rates of employment compared to those with physical or cognitive disabilities. In Latvia, the challenges include insufficient support in education, limited access to specialised training, and a lack of employer awareness about inclusive practices. Similarly, in Italy, the employment for young people with autism is hindered by regional disparities in services, inadequate vocational training programmes, and low employer awareness, which limit opportunities for proper employment and career growth. On the other hand, in Serbia, the situation is worse including a lack of inclusive workplace policies, limited vocational training and job coaching, and widespread social stigma, leading to high unemployment rates and dependence on family support.
These individuals are part of a vulnerable group encountering significant obstacles in societal integration at various levels. The difficulty in securing employment for people with autism can be attributed to several factors, including:
- The lack of effective policies for the employment inclusion of vulnerable people;
- The lack of training regarding the correct relational approach in relation to young people with autism;
- The lack of awareness regarding this issue in the entrepreneurial fabric and in society.
The consequence of these listed facts is that young people with autism, once they finish school, find themselves cut off from the world of work and therefore enter a state of isolation and dependence on their families or social services.
The project aims to address the following needs:
- Effective employment inclusion policies tailored to the unique challenges faced by young individuals with autism.
- The need for specialised training that equips youth workers with the skills to support youngsters with autism in navigating the labour market successfully.
- The need to raise awareness within local communities and the business sector about the potential benefits of employing young people with autism and to challenge existing misconceptions.
- The need to actively contribute to the improvement of the European Union’s Diversity and Inclusion policies, ensuring that they adequately address the employment needs of individuals with autism.
By focusing on these needs, the project seeks to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for young people with autism as they transition into the workforce.
The goal of our project is to enrich the quality of youth work for the employability of youngsters with autistic spectrum and provide tools for further empowering them for better inclusion in the labour market.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- To increase the competences of youth workers, school teachers and social workers in developing and implementing a model for inclusion of youngsters with autistic spectrum in the labour market through the innovative guidebook with curriculum and the training course.
- To educate youngsters with autistic spectrum in practical skills for labour market, personal branding, communication and relational skills through innovative toolkit and the piloting workshops.
- To increase capacities of consortium partners in the topic and disseminate project outputs with relevant stakeholders in local/international level through collection and promotion of positive practices, project online platform and national conferences.
Project activities are:
- WP1 – Project Management
- WP1 – Project kick-off meeting – online
- WP2 – R1 Guidebook with Curriculum “Empowering youth workers and educators to support youngsters with autism in the labour market”
- WP2 – R2 Training course for youth workers
- WP1 – Project mid-term meeting – online
- WP3 – R3 Toolkit “Empowerment of youngsters with autism on building skills for career success”
- WP3 – Toolkit piloting workshops
- WP4 – R4 Collection of positive practices for inclusion in the labour market
- WP4 – R5 Project online platform
- WP4 – International conference – IT
- WP4 – International conference – LV
- WP4 – International conference – RS
- WP1 – Project evaluation meeting – online
Project results:
- Guidebook with Curriculum “Empowering youth workers and educators to support youngsters with autism in the labour market”
- Toolkit “Empowerment of youngsters with autism on building skills for career success”
- Collection of positive practices for inclusion in the labour market
- Project online platform
*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.