ZBORNIK RADOVA

7. Međunarodni stručni skup, NA POSAO!Uloga pružatelja usluga u profesionalnoj rehabilitaciji i zapošljavanju osoba s invaliditetom – europska i hrvatska iskustvaHealth (ICF, WHO, 2001). This provides the foundations for the establishment of a social and medicalmodel of disability that includes, in addition to the physical impairment determined by expertise,assessment of the functioning of a person with disabilities in interaction with the factors from one'senvironment.Since 2009, the Croatian Employment Service has been cooperating with URIHO (Institution forRehabilitationofDisabledPersonsbyVocationalRehabilitationandEmployment),theCityofZagrebandthe Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of People with Disabilities on theimplementationofanewmodelofvocationalrehabilitation-"WorkCentre"inZagreb.Groups of unemployed persons with disabilities were included in a six-month process of vocationalrehabilitation in the Work Centre throughout 2009 and 2010. Based on the monitoring of rehabilitationprocess, during which professional skills are improved and the "soft, transferable or life skills" aredeveloped through group work and other forms of work-related and social activities, employability of theCentre beneficiaries has been evaluated, in whose placement the Croatian Employment Service mediatedafter the completed program of vocational rehabilitation. CES selects beneficiaries of vocationalrehabilitationpursuanttotheproceduresofprofessionalselectionandisinvolvedintheprocessofmonitoring the beneficiaries' progress, program evaluation; it pays out allowance to beneficiaries, thetransportation and insurance costs, and works on the improvement of this form of vocationalrehabilitation along with other partners. Considering the prior positive experience, the Service plans tocontinue participating in similar projects of rehabilitation of unemployed persons.Croatian Employment Service, the Regional Office of Zagreb and the City of Zagreb are URIHO'spartners for the implementation of grant scheme "Introduction of the model of the virtual workshop forthe long-term unemployed persons with disabilities with the aim of increasing their employability" forwhich funds were awarded under the IPA project of "Fostering Effective Inclusion of Persons withDisabilities into the Labour Market".The aim of project is to establish a virtual workshop for long-term unemployed people with disabilitiestrained for administrative, commercial, accounting and financial professions. Working situations aresimulated in the virtual workshop, enabling beneficiaries to expand their knowledge and skills necessaryforeffectiveintegrationintotheworkingenvironment.Theabovemodelpractises"softorlifeskills"suchas: teamwork, decision making, communication skills, stress management, creative and critical thinkingetc. Beneficiaries of the virtual workshop gather work experience via the latest information technologiesand networking.In addition to various models of improving vocational rehabilitation according to the NationalStrategy for Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in the period 2007 – 2015, theCroatian Employment Service also participates in the promotion of the disability-based rights andproposes the adoption of appropriate regulations.Unemployment and placement of persons with disabilities - figuresPersons with disabilities are one of the groups characterized by an aggravated access to the labour market.The conducted research confirms a combined impact of several diverse factors as a reason of aggravatedaccess to the open labour market – lack of information and insufficient awareness of employers and thesociety in general, inadequate educational structure of people with disabilities, lack of work experience,the consequences of long-term unemployment, etc.117