Easy Steps towards Working Life

The Easy Steps towards Working Life project piloted and developed a new employment method to improve the opportunities of people with partial work ability to find work in the open labour market. The project also aimed to build a network of companies that use the new model to provide employment to the target group.

In the project, companies were supported by providing them with information on employing people with partial work ability. At the same time, a positive atmosphere was created for recruiting people with partial work ability. People with partial work ability are a resource for companies and society.

In the project we have also developed a guide which focuses on the smooth recruitment of persons with partial work ability and the utilisation of labour force potential in Finland. The guide is specifically intended for employers, work community developers and recruitment agents and agencies:
Easy Steps towards Working Life – Guide to the employment of people with partial work ability by modifying work

Work for all according to their work ability

In the Easy Steps towards Working Life project, work suitable for the target group was first identified in the partner companies. New work tasks were then tailored for the group and multiplied within the company. People with partial work ability could thus be employed to positions suitable for their work ability. 

The project promoted clients’ transition from unemployment, rehabilitation and training towards employment.

More information to employers

It is estimated that Finland has approximately 65,000 people with partial work ability who would like to find work. They get employed slowly, however, and new types of measures are therefore required to improve the labour market situation. According to studies, employers are interested in employing people with partial work ability and people with disabilities. However, they need more information on recruitment, competence and the subsidies available for employment. Furthermore, they need effective employment services and help in matching the positions with employees.

Economic viability from the point of view of both the companies and society was an important priority in the Easy Steps towards Working Life project.

A new operating model for employment

The operating model of the project was piloted during 2019. In 2020, more partner companies and actors from employment services were invited to join the project. At the end of the project, the operating model was described, evaluated and established as a part of the partner companies’ operation.

The aim was also to establish the operation of the Easy Steps towards Working Life network on a permanent basis. This way, an operating model for employing people with partial work ability and people with disabilities is available to the companies when the project ended. 

Extensive cooperation

The Easy Steps to Working Life project was coordinated by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. The Rehabilitation Foundation was one of the partial implementers of the project. From the beginning, the following companies have been partners of the project: Lidl Finland, Lassila Tikanoja Oy, Leijona Catering Oy, Sato Oy, Espoo Catering Oy and Spesia Vocational College. 

The project used the Locus Netwerk model developed in the Netherlands. Locus Netwerk has closed down in the Netherlands, but an employment model suitable for Finland will be developed on the basis of the operating model created by it.  The model will be based on the Locus Netwerk model, on experiences gained from cooperation with employers and on development work.

Twenty large companies operating in Finland were already contacted at the project planning stage. The companies had a positive attitude to the working method and employing people with partial work ability. 

The project was implemented with support from the European Social Fund (ESF).