In the context of vocational projects people with special needs are being offered a temporary appointment.

The most important aspects of the projects are:

• Employment that guarantees a living wage
• Encouragement of social competence
• Job-related and future planning
• Placement support
• Social and pedagogic guidance

The aim of the project is to empower people to work in the regular labourmarket. This goal will be achieved with measures that improve stability and social competence.

Gambe is a Leonardo da Vinci project. This is a special European support program that deals with the

 development of methods which improve the professional education and possibilities of integration of people with special needs.

The project Gambe – Leonardo da Vinci, whose aim is the reduction of barriers for people with special needs, was established in August 2006. These barriers are

• Poor qualification of the people
• Callousness of the communities towards those people
• Incapability of the society to cope with handicapped people
• Strong belief that this work can only be done in special institutions

Based on the main goals, the following interim goals were defined:

• Gastronomy
• Tourism
• Community services
• Personal services

In the above mentioned fields special apprenticeship programs have been developed in order to train people with special needs to become qualified assistants.

Depending on the potentials of the person the duration of one apprenticeship module varies between three and six months.

The reason for choosing the concrete fields of apprenticeship was because the contents are compatible in each of the four participating countries.

Based on the famous model of Hinsch and Pfingsten a training program has been elaborated which covers both cultural and “in vivo – techniques”.

The main precondition for community close vocational integration is the activation of the local community and the communal structures. To make this possible social active laypersons but also representatives of communities and regional authorities have been trained in the basic principles of case management and implacement work.

The aim of the project is to create new job opportunities rather than finding them on the existing employment market. It is necessary to develop jobs in niches that are not known or occupied already.

In addition governmental aid provided by the AMS or Bundessozialamt will be used.

The aim of the project is to create new job opportunities and not only to find them on the already existing employment market. It is necessary to develop jobs in niches that are not known or occupied already.
In addition governmental aid provided by the AMS or Bundessozialamt shall be leveraged.

All this measures have been developed by a large international project group:

• pro mente oö, Austria
• Allgemeine Jugendberatung Berlin, Germany
• AREAS Suceava, Romania
• Marie Cürie Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• OZARA, Slovenia
• Fundacion ICSE Valencia, Spain
• E-isotis Athen, Greece
• La Valle del Sole - Italy
• Fondazioni Soziali Alta Val`d Elsa, Italy
• Atrium Research Maastricht, Netherlands
• E-Bizcheck, Cyprus

The project was completed in 2009. After the evaluation, the elaborated curricula and guidelines have been revised, translated into the respective languages and handed over to interested providers. The documents are still available.