Started in October 2023, Green ASC VET is a 3-year project which aims at promoting the inclusive employment of autistic people through vocational education and trainings tailored to autistic people’s needs by using extended reality technologies. This project gathers partners from different European countries and is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
The Green ASC VET project (Metautism, for short) is a project intended for autistic people, to support and empower them in their pursuit of inclusive employment through Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the acquisition of competences in line with the requirements of the labour market.
At the centre of all project activities there are autistic people, their needs in vocational education, their personal choice of occupation, education, and active inclusion in the labour market. Active inclusion in the labour market implies the creation of a fair environment in which equality is a value. Equality means equal rights in the job application process, access to permanent employment as well as fair working conditions and wages.
Using extended reality (XR) technologies would allow autistic people to choose their occupation and acquire skills on simulators adapted for skills training before entering the real job market.
Therefore, the main objectives of the Green ASC VET project are:
- Creating modernised career guidance and skills training programmes for autistic people;
- Creating continuous professional training programmes for VET teachers and trainers to work with autistic people;
- Using XR technologies and 360-degree videos to create conditions for autistic people to independently choose their job and VET paths, increasing their self-confidence by introducing simulators for training skills (green training) and integrated interactive exercise programmes;
- Raising awareness of inclusion of autistic people in the labour market, especially targeting employers.
The consortium that will develop and implement these project’s goals is composed by:
- Udruga za cjelozivotno strukovno obrazovanje – #STRUKA (Croatia) – Project’s coordinator
- Virsabi ApS (Danemark)
- Learn Virtual Europe Kft. (Hungary)
- Industrijsko-obrtnicka skola – IOS (Croatia)
- FPDA – Federação Portuguesa de Autismo (Portugal)
- Autism-Europe AISBL (Belgium)
- Innoversa Factory GmbH (Germany)
Associated Partners to the project are NGO Plavi cvijet (Croatia) and SRH BBW Neckargemünd GmbH (Germany).
Alongside the project’s work on VET and XR solutions, an awareness-raising campaign focusing on the objectives mentioned above will be launched under the coordination of #STRUKA and Autism-Europe – the latter being included in the consortium as dissemination leader.
More about the Erasmus+ Programme
Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. It has an estimated budget of €26.2 billion. The 2021-2027 programme places a strong focus on social inclusion, the green and digital transitions, and promoting young people’s participation in democratic life.