Project "Digital Literacy for the Job Market” is the responsibility of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém.
This first edition of the project will enable young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to qualify for a disability level equal to or greater than 60%. According to the Polytechnic of Santarém, the methodology is inspired by the model of the Autonomous University of Madrid, with the training lasting two academic years.
Work began at the beginning of the 2018/2019 school year and, as highlights the Ministry of Education, on its website, this is “the first model of inclusive education training, in a higher education context for young people with IDD, to be carried out in Portugal”. The focus, he adds, is on inclusive education and digital skills.
This first edition has 11 students and is divided into two complementary learning environments, according to the project presentation document: classroom training and specific training for work in companies, including internships in various departments. Upon completion, students in this program have career opportunities in the following areas: Public Administration, Professional Centers, Schools, Companies, Insurance, Auxiliary Services and Hotel Entities.
Expectations exceeded
The Santarém School of Education plays a leading role in this project. This school's educational environment will enable these young people to work in different work contexts, train for the adaptation to different business cultures, foster equality, mutual acceptance and self-reflection, as well as developing the ability to work in a team.
The project coordinator, Maria Potes Barbas, considers that the experience “it has been extraordinary”, highlighting “the fundamental support of the 37 associated companies and, above all, of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education”. The person in charge also highlights the role of the 117 volunteers, 17 teachers and the support provided by families.
For the Multimedia Education specialist, the initiative has “exceeded expectations”, namely through the media projection achieved “guaranteed permanent contact with civil society”. “We have received many contacts, also wanting to know how this project can be implemented”, he reveals. In this sense, at the end of the first edition, in 2020, an e-book will be published that will offer the possibility to all Higher Education Institutions to replicate this training.
Maria Potes Barbas also highlights the context in which this training arises, after the publication of law no. 4 of 2019, on January 10, which, according to the diploma, “establishes the employment quota system for people with disabilities, with a degree of disability equal to or greater than 60%”. The legislation applies to all companies with more than 75 employees.
Still on the connection with the business sector, the coordinator highlights as a very positive fact the fact that all students “already have the possibility of doing a paid internship”, during the next school year.
The passage through the FCCN Studio
During the month of January, the students visited the FCCN Studio. The goal was to record the project's anthem with the help of Mariana Froes (Mimi – a former contestant in the competition). The X Factor Portugal).
For Maria Potes Barbas, this experience was “fundamental to the students’ happiness”. “This is an area – motor expression, like dance or music – that they really enjoy.”, highlights, before concluding: “And they had the opportunity to get to know the studio and its human resources, who welcomed us in an exemplary way”.
