GLAD 20 YEARS - Flipbook - Page 58
Education –
a Key Issue
During these years it became clear to us that pressure to get an education through the programme
for people with special needs had to be increased.
“It made no sense, when society demanded increased employment of youth with special needs
(STU) – at was the case with the pension reform in 2012 – if it was well-nigh impossible to qualify for
a job. Thus, for a long time, we had tried for to come across to Parliament with our message on the
need for education opportunities,” says Mikkel Holmbäck.
In 2012 they succeeded. During negotiations in parliament on distribution of some special
state funds, one late evening, Mikkel Holmbäck received a call that a lump sum for education and
employment for youth with special needs seemed within reach. In order to decide, they needed a
budget frame within the next few hours. The following day it was decided to earmark two mill DKK
(268,000€) a year for four years from 2013. The grant made it possible to run a trial period for a
one-year education. The result of three years’ work was presented at a major conference in Parliament in 2016.
But Glad’s ambitions were higher; by now it was more than obvious that education was the best
way forward.
“When Glad was invited to a meeting in the A.P. Møller Foundation to explain our challenges, we
knew exactly what to say: It’s all about education. People with cognitive disabilities lack way behind
in competencies, and having finished STU, in reality they do not have access to the ordinary educational system. This constitutes enormous challenges, not least because employment in a so-called
flex-job implies a salary based on the labour markets collective bargaining system. And thus follows
the expectation of professional qualifications,” Mikkel Holmbäck explains.
The meeting with the A.P. Møller Foundation continued in a dialogue of more than a year and
resulted in cooperation on a trial run for one hundred youth in a two-year education, based on experiences from the earlier trial project. The ambitious project was made possible by a 25 mill. DKK (3.3
mill.€) grant from the A.P. Møller Foundation. The first of the one hundred students started in August
2018.
“The donation was a fantastic opportunity for Glad. Education has been pivotal for the Glad Foundation since its inception, and this was a massive boost. Apart from A.P Møller Foundation, the financial partner, we cooperate with a number of large companies and the youth’s home municipalities.
This cooperation is important – and proof that others too, recognise the relevance of the project,”
Dorte Justesen explains.
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