TAD Projects Tecformin

Home Telematics Social Enterprise Partners Projects Cepadite Contatto On-line Tecformin Updates Activities Contact

Project 'Tecformin'

"The information and communication technologies in the process of training and socio-economic integration of physically disabled people"

TECFORMIN is an EC HORIZON/EMPLOYMENT Initiative, promoted by the Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria (Islas Canarias), and implemented by the Foundation for the Social Development of the Canaries (FUNDESCAN).

The project offers training in information and communication technologies (ICT) to physically disabled people of the highlands of Gran Canaria through a permanent ICT Training Workshop.

The ultimate aim of TECFORMIN is to improve the employment opportunities of the physically disabled people of the rural areas of Gran Canaria.

In the context of the transnational project, Telematics and Disability (TAD), TECFORMIN is subjected to some elements and particularities that will necessarily influence the use of ICT in training and integration of the disabled people:

• The characteristics of the labour market (small dimension of firms and economic sectors, slow pace of introduction of ICT and new forms of labour organisation, etc) are influenced by both the ultraperipheral and island nature of the socio-economic context.
• Rurality. The fact of TECFORMIN being based in the rural areas of the island means: greater isolation and less education level of the disabled people, poorer community infrastructures, limited and less diversified labour market ).

Objectives

• To introduce disabled people in using ICT as a training tool
• To train disabled people in ICT and social skills in order to gain access to the labour market
• To introduce and support disabled people in using ICT to access information
• To offer disabled people labour guidance
• To remove social obstacles and make companies aware of the potential of ICT in the labour integration of people with disabilities.

The project can be divided into three main strands of activity:

1. Training

• Training needs analysis and Design of training programme
• ICT training programme for 20 disabled people: basic computing skills and more specialised computing software (ofimatic, autoedition, graphic design, internet and web page creation, customer attention telephone service)
• Training programme in psychosocial skills

2. Labour integration

• Workshops in job searching techniques
• Individual job counselling
• Mediation between beneficiaries and potential employers

3. Awareness

• Publicity of TECFORMIN and its activities through the TECFORMIN Web
• Conferences in disability, ICT and employment opportunities
• Workshops with enterprises
• TAD products: web page and Guide to Good Practice

Implementation

TECFORMIN is carried out by a team of 5 professionals (project director, 1 expert in training for the disabled, 1 social worker, 2 ICT tutors) and 1 nurse assistant.

The project officially started in December 1998, having actually started the training programme in May 1999.

The selection of the 20 beneficiaries proved to be rather complex: there were not many candidates that complied with the profile required for this sort of training programme. The group of beneficiaries is rather heterogeneous, reflecting the characteristics of the disabled people in the highlands of Gran Canaria: low level of education, wide range of physical handicap, computing illiterate, unemployed.

At present, the group is receiving a combined training programme: pre-training (basic computing skills, learning techniques), psychosocial skills and specialised computing software. The TECFORMIN programme will run up until December.

Related Pages

• Fundescan "The Foundation for the Social Development of the Canary Islands"
• Project Updates

| Home | Telematics | Social Enterprise | Partners | Projects | Activities | Contact | Sitemap |