The Gibraltar Disability Society is proud to have sponsored the visit to Gibraltar of Ms Erin Riehle, Founder and Senior Director and Mrs Anne O’Bryan, UK Lead/European Programme Specialist both from Project SEARCH. The main purpose of their visit, arranged by Nicole Byrne, was to meet with Education Minister Gilbert Licudi, Health Minister John Cortes and Social Affairs Minister Samantha Sacramento. Since its inception in 1996 Project SEARCH has grown from a single program site to over 200 sites across the United States and Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland Australia and Main Land Europe. The Disability Society wanted the Ministers to have the opportunity to hear firsthand how Project SEARCH could improve the choices young people with disabilities have to be able to lead productive lives within the community. Nicole Byrne also hopes to travel to Glasgow to learn more about the opportunities created by Project SEARCH in Scotland. We wish to thank the Ministers for finding the time to meet with Nicole, Erin and Anne.
Project SEARCH was first developed in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to support people with learning disabilities into work and has a very clear goal – to give young people with learning disabilities the skills to gain competitive paid employment. The program provides real-life work experience combined with training in employability and independent living skills to help youths with disabilities make successful transitions from school to productive adult life. The Project SEARCH model involves an extensive period of training and career exploration, innovative adaptations, long-term job coaching, and continuous feedback from teachers, job coaches, and employers. As a result, at the completion of the training program, students with intellectual disabilities are employed in non-traditional, complex and rewarding jobs. The presence of a Project SEARCH High School Transition Program can bring about long-term changes in business culture that have far-reaching positive effects on attitudes about hiring people with disabilities and the range of jobs in which they can be successful.
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