Paths2Work
Supporting employment through individual and group-based coaching pathways for young people with disabilities
duration
1.4.2026 – 31.1.2029
Research Programme
Thriving Through Experiences
Area
EU/EEA countries
funder
EU: Baltic Sea Region
Humak’s part of the total budget
257 083,10 €
Rahoittajat
lead partner
Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu
partners
Astangu, Ammattiopisto Spesia
Employment Pathways for Youth
Young people with disabilities in the Central Baltic region face significant barriers to employment. Employer attitudes and limited awareness of the skills and capabilities of people with disabilities continue to hinder the transition from education to working life. At the same time, there is a need for more effective support models that help young people enter the labour market.
Paths2Work (Interreg Central Baltic) promotes the employment of young people with disabilities in Finland and Estonia. The project develops and tests group-based and individual employment support models in cooperation with employers. Its goal is to identify practical and effective solutions that promote equal access to employment and can be transferred and applied internationally.
Humak contributes expertise in participation, community-based learning environments and cooperation between education and working life. In addition, Humak strengthens the project’s accessibility expertise and develops linguistically accessible practices that support equal participation for all involved.
Key results
- Strengthen the readiness for working life of more than 120 young people with disabilities.
- Improve the capacity of more than 120 employers to recruit and support a diverse workforce.
- Establish a cross-border network of job coaches between Finland and Estonia.
- Develop a practical toolkit that combines group-based and individual employment support methods.
- Integrate the developed support models into participating organisations, benefiting more than 500 students annually.
- Produce evidence-based recommendations to support policy development and the improvement of employment services.
Promoting Inclusive Employment
The project pilots the following support models:
TREENI Workshops
Group-based workshops where young people and employers develop workplace skills, knowledge and collaboration together.
Criteria-Based Job Coaching and Job Shadowing
Individual support that helps participants identify their strengths, develop employment skills and move towards work.
Estonian Person-Centred Model Testing and Adaptation
Pilots both (the TREENI and CBJB+JS) approaches as part of Estonia’s national internship system.
Publications
Superheroes, Sidekicks and a Shared Mission: Paths2Work Kicks Off
Project Manager
