De Werkbank (the Workbench)
De Werkbank is the employment project of JKVG vzw. JKVG it is the youth organisation of KVG. It has three divisions: Hannibal, De Werkbank and The Policies Centre Employment & Disability.
De Werkbank is the employment project of JKVG vzw. The staff members of De Werkbank are spread in the Flemish provinces.
Mission/vision
De Werkbank supports young people with a disability searching for a job or training. De Werkbank wants to contribute to equal chances on the labour market for young people with a disability. By training and personal support we try to enhance and optimize their chances on the labour market.
We consider people with a disability are independent citizens, who take decisions and are responsible for the organisation of their own lives.
De Werkbankstarts always from the individual possibilities of every person and strives to a labour policy which stimulates equal chances. The access to labour is here at stake. De Werkbank participates actively in the creation of this labour market policy on the local and the regional level.
De Werkbank wants to emphasise the different life dimensions that concern with labour. Our subject is not only employement in a strict way. Education, replacement incomes related matters, the European Voluntary Service and supporting people with a disability who have a personal assistance budget are also active subject of De Werkbank.
De Werkbank wants to give an active contribution to the further professionalisation of the service for young people with a disability concerning work. Development of new methodologies in a national and international framework helps to create a higher quality of ressembling services.
To realise this mission De Werkbank, defined a number of areas:
1) Individual support of jobseekers with a disability to stimulate their integration in the labour market.
Helping people searching for a job, how to communicate your disability to a potential employer, which employment measures you can use, video-based and web-based job application training, do you mention your disability in an application for a job, How should you prepare a conversation with an employer and we try to find suiting vacancies.
De Werkbank has built up expertise in developing and organising trainings in the area of disability and employment on an individual or school-level. We have provided trainings for persons with a disability as well as for professionals (teachers in special education, trainers ad consultants in the area of disability or employment).
De Werkbank has organised trainings in the area of: employment seeking, applying for a job, employment measures and communication about the disability.
At this moment we are writing a manual with an organization in the Netherlands about supported employment (SE) for professionals and people with a disability.
2) Influencing Policies to enhance people’s chances on the labour market.
De Werkbank has a seat in the Diversity Commission of the Social-economic Council of Flanders. We are also an active member of the Flemish Users Forum Disability and Employment. We have persons in decision-making bodies in the Flemish Agency for the integration of people with a disability (governmental agency). We give lectures about employment and disability.
3) Free Exit
We are a sending organisation for EVS volunteers with and without a disability (European voluntary service) enhancing their workability. Voluntary work is also work. We work with youngsters with a physical impairment and youngsters with a hearing or sight impairment.
We send also youngsters to international seminars in the sphere of equal chances, empowerment, diversity and youthwork.
If you have invitations for seminars, please send them to us: free-exit@kvg.be
4) Personal AssistanceBudget
De Werkbank gives training sessions for people who have personal assistance and for personal assistants, we have individual consultations with budget holders, we are publishing a magazine and we are influencing government policy.
The workbench is also working international: a few years ago there was a project about independent living (Leonardo).
We are especially searching accessible projects and places for people with a disability. If you have such a project or you don't know if your place is accessible, please contact free-exit@kvg.be