Aktualności
07-02-2007
Newsletter
The Danish EQUAL project for the benefit of visually impaired people - summary of actions undertaken in 2006 and plans for 2007.
The year 2006 has passed - and it makes us look back and summarize!
After having moved successfully into our new office, and the following reception, it became everyday life again in Vision Trade Center.
An everyday life where the students as well as the employees at Tele-Trading-House found a good rhythm and satisfaction in their work on the new location close to the train-station and buses.
The obvious deficiencies were received with overwhelming optimism. For example the students grabbed the opportunity and went out to try the local diners for lunch during the first couple of weeks.
The cooperation with the national partners is all together going very well and we feel a wide support and sympathy concerning the project.
Steen Scheffler Aps (National Partner) has in one of our rooms made a veritable "show-room" which contains special lighting and special keyboards.
Majbritt, newly educated TM-consultant, got employment with Nykredit A/S (National Partner) at their customer service department, where she is very happy and is highly appreciated for her professional skills. And during the past year she has been named employee of the month a couple of times.
In cooperation with the Institute for the Blind in the Faroe Islands (National Partner) we are planning a long-distance education for two Faroese. This necessitates implementation in the Faroe Islands in 2007.
AF Storkobenhavn (National Partner, The employment service in Copenhagen) is in a changing and merging fase, so our contact, handicap consultant Kai Lundsteen, is on his way to a job in another municipality, but we have had a lot of good debates concerning integration into the labour market and we hope the cooperation can continue under the new settings.
The training firm Tele-Trading-House has in 2006 expanded their outbound product area with international calls. Furthermore they have in the last part of the year solved an all-round assignment set by WWF involving receiving orders, e-mail, mail, selling Christmas cards and CDs - and have achieved very satisfying results.
Another big satisfaction for the employees was the nomination for "Business of The Year" in the municipality in the autumn, where they received flowers and champagne. This means a great deal to the employees and the students.
Entering 2007 there are 7 adult students enrolled at the education in Vision Trade Center and we experience a big user interest in the rehabilitation and education opportunity in a business environment. This is also confirmed with lots of enquiries from both authorities and businesses, who have expressed a wish to be part of the education program and hire graduated students.
At the same time the general demand for customer service employees and telemarketing consultants has also grown bigger.
We have also received good press - amongst others we have been broadcasted on television for more than 90 minutes - concerning Social Economics, the documentary "a place in life" and a brief item from our reception.
Furthermore there have been several articles in company newsletters (in other big Danish companies), in the local paper and more.
Besides international meetings with equal projects in Austria, Czech Republic, Spain, France and more, VTC has had study- and cooperation meetings in Denmark with Norway, Poland, Austria, Spain, France and more to show how the Danish project works practically in the combined Business and Education Company with emphasis on the opportunities of the individual.
The Labour Market Organization met the executive committee during a visit to Vision Trade Center at the end of the year. As usual the students participated actively in showing VTC and sharing their dreams and plans of getting an exciting job after graduating from the education at VTC.
We look forward to the new year bringing new challenges and initiatives to Vision Trade Center in cooperation with the Danish business life.
From the past to the future:
In 2007 we will primarily focus our energy on fulfilling the obligations we agreed to when starting the project. But we will also initiate:
- I cooperation with Tryg Insurance we will hold a seminar concerning the marginalised unemployed and their inducting them to the labour market. During this we - the originators of the project - will describe and develop further on the basis model and pass on our experiences to the business life and educational institutions national and international.
- Prepare our selves to the coming study visits from ongoing Equal projects from other countries that wish and seek to improve their knowledge concerning all from the concept to the education model.
- As a natural part of the development of the project we will offer 3-4 persons who are not blind or partially sighted the possibility to complete the entire education concept/model towards their own employment.
2007 will be a very important year for the project (also a year of hard work). The project formally terminates when 2007 come to an end. But when we look at the capability and potential that the project results have already proved, everything points to the fact that it is urgently important that we find permanent solutions to continue the concept of the project, in close cooperation with both the business world, job centres and other relevant partners, who emphasise on getting people "far from the job world" into jobs.
Nobody can do everything - everybody can do something - together we can do it all.
Happy New Year 2007