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Factsheet for measure SK-2018-1/1186 Updated – measures in Slovakia

Help with heart: Labour market re-integration for disabled workers

Výpomoc so srdcom

Country Slovakia , applies nationwide
Time period Open ended, started on 01 January 2018
Context COVID-19
Type Company practices
Category Promoting the economic, labour market and social recovery into a green future
– Active labour market policies (enhancing employability, training, subsidised job creation, etc.)
Author Rastislav Bednarik, Daniela Keselova and Miroslava Kordosova (IVPR) and Eurofound
Measure added 25 September 2020 (updated 30 May 2025)

Background information

A programme developed by the recruitment company Profesia has been implemented since 2018. However in spring 2020 its activities were adapted to the new circumstances and the national epidemiological measures. Within the programme, Profesia cooperates with other organisations, particularly, the Institute for professional rehabilitation or the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union. The programme’s goal is to help people with disabilities to gain a job, retain or return to the employment in the open labour market. The programme includes persons with all types of disabilities with the focus on more serious ones (such as intellectual disability, autism, Asperger syndrome, people with hearing impairment). The main activity is the position of Assistance of job inclusion, which has been performed on a voluntary basis without any regulatory background, yet. There is an effort of the programme provider to include this position to the legislation.

Content of measure

Within the programme the recruitment company Profesia offers the employers the free of charge access to CVs of applicants with disabilities and informs employers on the process of inclusion at the workplace.  The support of the job-seeker with disabilities consists of:

  • The career guidance (abilities and possibilities mapping, help with CV, job search and job interview training – either face-to-face or online)
  • The training for the particular employment (guidance during the trial period, inclusion at the workplace, setting the supervision at the employer)

The support is provided by the position of the Assistant for the job inclusion. The assistant supports and helps the job-seeker to be prepared for the job interview and advocates for him/her to be employed, retain to workplace or return to employment.

The support also includes motivation videos of persons with disabilities already employed. These videos and also online counselling and communication seem to be the main activities during pandemic in spring 2020. According to communication with Profesia, career motivation videos have been published for pupils and students with disabilities. Also the Research Institute of Child Psychology and Patopsychology (VUDPaP) uses these videos in its career guidance National project. Two more videos were being finalised in October 2020.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

26 November 2022

Within the Help with Heart programme, Profesia launched a new project Profesia Lab in January 2023. The target groups are job-seekers with disabilities, employers and organisations of persons with disabilities. After four years of implementation of Help with Heart programme, Profesia decided to move the work with persons with disabilities further. Profesia Lab was developed in cooperation with international experts on the basis of data collected and analysed by Profesia company from 2018. Data include employers' requirements on job-seekers, barriers in employment and needs of persons with disabilities. The project focuses on employment of persons with autism, ADHD and learning disabilities. The project has been a nationwide model of cooperation between employers and other partners at local level. The project was introduced on an international conference Neurodiversity at workplace on 22 November 2022. According to Profesia, is was considered as an important step to improve employment possibilities of persons with disabilities. The company estimated that about 155 thousands of persons with disabilities in Slovakia could work under suitable inclusion arrangements. An ASSET programme is an important part of the Profesia Lab project to improve soft skills of job-seekers with disabilities. For employers and other relevant partners the activities include, for instance: awareness raising in employment of persons with disabilities, reconciliation of companies' and job-seekers' needs, excursions in companies, evaluation of job-seekers skills to provide various tasks or inclusion at workplace.

Use of measure

According to communication with Profesia, there were about 1,600 CVs of applicants with disabilities in the database of Profesia company by 30 September 2020. It makes about 2% of all CVs in the company's database.

There were 16 clients in Help with heart programme in spring 2020. Regarding the particular companies, by the end of September 2020 four employees in Curaden went back to work after spring lockdown and one person will be employed at Bratislava Municipality.

In the school year 2019/2020, there were 14 secondary vocational school students with disabilities performing their paid practical training in Johnson Controls. They did not return back to the company since the cooperation between Johnson Controls and two secondary vocational schools has been interrupted.

There have been 30 new employees with disabilities being prepared for a shipping and delivery service company.

Contents

  • Employment retention
  • Other topics
  • Solidarity
  • Training and employability

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Disabled workers
Applies to all businesses Disabled

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
Company / Companies
Other social actors (e.g. NGOs)
Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role Unknown Unknown
Form Not applicable Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • Unknown
  • Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

There is no information on social partners' involvement in designing, implementing and monitoring the measure.

Views and reactions

There is no information on social partner's views on / reactions to the measure.

Sources

  • 01 November 2019: Odporúčania pre zodpovedné podnikanie (www.chartadiverzity.sk)
  • 16 September 2020: Profesia žiada lepšie podmienky pre zamestnávanie ľudí so znevýhodnením (firma.profesia.sk)
  • 25 September 2020: O čom je výpomoc so srdcom (www.sosrdcom.sk)
  • 25 September 2020: Čo ponúka výpomoc so srdcom uchádzačom o prácu? (www.sosrdcom.sk)
  • 21 November 2022: Profesia introduces a nationwide complex project for job-seekers with autism, ADHD or dislexia (Profesia predstavuje celoslovenský komplexný projekt pre uchádzačov s autizmom, ADHD či dyslexiou) (firma.profesia.sk)
  • 26 November 2022: Profesia launches new project helping with job-search for persons with disabilities (Profesia spúšťa nový projekt, ktorý pomáha s hľadaním práce pre zdravotne znevýhodnených (www.usmevpredruhych.sk)
  • 04 December 2024: Profesia Lab guide (Sprievodca Profesia Lab) (www.sosrdcom.sk)

Citation

Eurofound (2020), Help with heart: Labour market re-integration for disabled workers, measure SK-2018-1/1186 (measures in Slovakia), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/SK-2018-1_1186.html

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