Through ‘100 extra apprenticeships’, a young disabled man is training to become a – ‘technical product designer’ – no mean feat.  After a hernia injury prevented him from doing hard physical work, he had to switch to a new apprenticeship. The ESF-funded programme provided valuable support.

Following his graduation from school (Fachoberschulreife), Marcel R. opted for training as a ‘construction mechanic’, which certainly involves a lot of hard work. A work-related hernia injury forced him to abandon his chosen career and look for another apprenticeship. He was helped by ‘100 extra apprenticeships’, and is now training in the town of Oelde to become a ‘technical product designer’.

The mentoring and support for Marcel H. under the programme comes from Berufsförderungswerk Hamm.  The organisation concludes a training contract with the youngster, and helps find a host employer, in this case the company, ‘Münsterland Engineering GmbH’ in Oelde’. Lars Möldenhoff is one of the managing directors and has full confidence in the programme: ‘As long as the disability does not keep them from getting the job done, we will always hire people with health issues first.’

The action programme, ‘100 extra apprenticeships for teenagers and young adults with disabilities in North Rhine-Westphalia’ is jointly administerd by the state’s Ministry for Work and the Federal Employment Service’s NRW satellite office. Funded by the State Government and the ESF, the programme assists on-the-job training schemes for disabled youngsters and has a proven track record of delivering inclusion.

• Full version and pictures (German language)
• More on the State Government programme