IDOL

What is IDOL? 

IDOL (Inclusion of Disabled People in the Open Labour Market) is a EU project funded under the Leonardo da Vinci programme. The project aims to address the needs of both the vision impaired and people with physical disabilities, who are studying, intend to study or have graduated from university and intend to work in the open labour market. The project began in 2003 and its duration is 24 months. The contractor and coordinator of the project is Jagellonian University, Poland with project partners in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, Spain and UK.

IDOL Project Objectives

The IDOL objectives include the development of two training programmes to assist people with disabilities to be integrated successfully into the open labour market. These training programmes use the most state of the art solutions, enabling people with disabilities to obtain and successfully sustain employment.

IT/AT Training Programme

The IT/AT Training Programme is a computer course designed to enable vision impaired computer users to develop important vocational skills in the area of assistive and information technologies. The European partners involved in the project, have drawn on their shared experience of working in the field, to develop a comprehensive training programme that has developed training guidelines, methods, materials, information, assessment procedures and approaches for those that utilise this programme.

Psychological Support Training Programme

This programme aims to develop a complementary and innovative training programme supporting basic vocational skills of disabled people intending to work on the open market.

Both these training programmes will be supplemented with materials promoting service dogs helping the disabled in everyday activities. This Training the Trainer Programme enables guide dog and service dog trainers to equip vision impaired and physically disabled people with the skills necessary to participate equally in employment.

The role of the Disability Support Service, UCC

As a project partner the Disability Support Service has been instrumental in the design, development and piloting of the IT/AT Training Programme, whilst providing ongoing support to project partners developing the second training programme. Through its Regional Resource Centre in AT, the Disability Support Service is offering training in both levels of the IT/AT Training programme.

Who is the IT/AT Training Programme aimed at?

The course is aimed at vision impaired people who are studying, intend to study or have graduated from university and wish to improve their IT skills. No prior knowledge of computing is required as the course is aimed at those who only have basic computer knowledge.

Course structure and objectives

The course is divided into 2 levels:

Level 1 EATT (Equal Access to Technology Training):

Deals with basic computer operations and enhances the users knowledge and understanding of how to use a computer.

Starting and shutting down a computer

• Windows
• File management
• Access software (Zoomtext and JAWS)
• Word processing
•  Email and Internet

Level 2: builds on the skills developed in Level 1:

It focuses on the development of those IT skills which are necessary in the work environment.

• Access software (JAWS)
• Using and manipulating PDF documents
• Spreadsheets
• Databases

On completion of the course and related assignments, participants will receive the IDOL Certificate

Delivery of the course

Level 1 EATT: Delivered in Regional Resource Centre in AT, DSS, UCC

Level 2: Online learning with training centre support provided

What is the next step?

If you are interested in attending this course or running it from your own training/test centre please contact:

For more information see:

http://www.idol-project.org