EQUIL – Equality in Learning, which promotes the inclusion of people with mental health issue in labour market, is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme – Key Action 2 Strategic partnerships for Adult Education.
In the two years of project, partners will develop four training modules for practitioners with the aim to increase their skills for supporting people with mental health issue into work.
The four training modules to be developed will cover the following topics:
– “Employment Support Models” – Analysis of different job placement systems, starting from the experience of the British partners with the IPS model (Individual Placement Support) based on the methodology “Place then train”.
– “Educator / Practictioner Skills for Supporting People with Mental health who want to work” – Development of tools and exercises to increase the skills of practitioners working with people with mental health issue in getting into work. In addition, the role of experts by experience (with mental ill issue) will be analysed, key point of the English system for the integration into labour market of people with mental health issue, which works in collaboration with educators/practitioners.
– “Educator / Practitioner Skills for supporting Employers to Employ and Retain People with Lived Experience” – Development of tools and exercises to increase the skills of the educators/practitioners, to support potential employers to hire people with mental health issue, and consequently ensure mental well-being of employees in the company.
- “European Guide Toolkit for Co-Production” – Based on existing models and experience of co-production, identified through research and also using experience from the development of training in EQUIL project, the Toolkit will be used by services and people with lived experience to develop training in a truly co-production manner.
In order to develop these training modules, partnership will use the methodology of Co-production – of which the British partner Mersey Care NHS Trust have a great experience – and effectively will support the partnership in the implementation and use of it in the different project phases.
On the basis of the Co-production practitioners and users (including experts by experience) contribute equally in the planning and development of a training program. In EQUIL to achieve this goal, different actors will contribute and participate actively, such as health workers, persons with mental health issue, potential employers, employment centres and training centres, through different activities depending on the type of target, in order to get a comprehensive overview. Thus these actors will be co-creators of the training modules mentioned above.
As EQUIL is a European project, this co-production will take place in all partner countries: Denmark (Mht Consult), Italy (CESIE), Netherlands (Zorgvragersorganisatie GGZ Midden Holland), United Kingdom (Merseyside Expanding Horizons and Mersey Care NHS Trust) and Spain (Action Laboral).
The Co-production process has been started in the International Workshop held in Liverpool the 25th to 29th January 2016, in which educators and people with mental health issue have been working for 5 days on the development of the above mentioned training modules.
This learning mobility (defined Blended Learning Mobility) gave the opportunity to learn from each other and also co-create the emerging resources by sharing their experiences. This sharing lead to the reflection on what skills, values and experiences are necessary for employment advisers/practictioners to support them effectively. The results will be the basis for the development of the training modules mentioned above.
The experience lived by the participants at international level in Liverpool will be transferred at local level, through several “focus groups” in order to involve a larger number of people with mental health issue and thus increase the results for the development of training modules.
During the meeting in Liverpool, the participants met an employer who regularly hires people with mental health issue, registering positive effects within the work team company. In addition, they have learned about the role of the expert by experience, relevant support for the employment of people with mental health issue in England.
Partners will divulgate these experiences at local level.
For further information please contact adult@cesie.org.
