PYRY project supports unemployed with partial work ability and special needs, people outside the work force as well as students about to complete their vocational studies in vocational special needs education institutions. They are offered support in recognizing and productizing their own skills and strengthening their self-efficacy experience. This is done in groups and individually, using the methods of peer guidance and mentoring.
Skills recognition
The project considers recognizing one’s own skills and building one’s own identity towards a profession to be longterm processes. The peer mentors are trained from the participants.
The participants recognize their own skills in mixed groups, which include unemployed and students in vocational special needs education institutions. The mixed groups support peer learning and offer everybody new views on work, employment and different ways of earning and getting along in society.
TAMK students from the fields of social services, business administration, vocational teacher education take part in the guidance and pedagogical development of the peer group activities.
Employees and representatives of labor market organizations are offered materials and (on-line) training. The training offers realistic information about the skills of people with various partial work abilities, possible restrictions and overcoming them, as well as the support services available to support the recruitment.
Working method based on peer mentoring
The project creates a working method, which is based on peer mentoring, and which focuses on the enhancement of self-efficacy and recognizing one’s own learning. The aim is to promote the employment of persons with special needs. The model and the experiences are promoted for educational institutes, TE offices, organizations and working life.
PYRY Compentent Groups projects is funded by European Social Fund (ESF) and ELY Centre for Central Finland (Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment).
Tampere University of Applied Sciences is coordinating the project.
Project partners are Luovi Vocational College, Kiipula Vocational College, SASKY Municipal Education and Training Consortium and Valo-Valmennusyhdistys.
