Newsletter Suvot 8 (English version)

Fundaci贸n INTRAS

Newsletter

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SUVOT SUVOT

Number 8 september 2013

Spicing Up Vocational

Training

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Ozara

This is the last issue of SUVOT newsletter and, first of all, we, the SUVOT team, would like to thank all our readers for their support during the last three years.

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It has been a hard work developing the cooking vocational training course, but we are really proud of the results achieved: participants have enjoyed the course very much, trainers have realized about the improvement of some social and work skills in most of the participants and even some of them have found a job in the cooking sector. What else can we ask for?

Te a t r G r o d z k i

We have a last request for you: we would love you to implement the training course in your organization. Manuals are available freely and you can find additional information and feedback from our trainers in SUVOT website http://suvot. intras.es and in SUVOT Facebook.

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Hopefully, this is not the end of SUVOT project but the beginning of a delicious experience throughout Europe.

Enjoy the reading!

CJD Frechen

Suvot TEAM

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The end of a wonderful project, the beginning of a delicious experience

SUVOT Project is ending after 3 years of hard work and intensive learning. And, to be honest, all the professionals involved in it are highly proud and satisfied. Feedback from trainers and trainees that participated in the pilot experiences is very positive and encouraging: “I like to be in the kitchen. At the beginning I thought other participants are going to be annoying, but at the end I saw that we are great at team work” – Participant in Slovenia.

“Before being ill, I worked as an assistant in some bars; in fact this course gave me the possibility to remember all my knowledge.

Moreover, thanks to this course, I realized that I would be able to start working again in a small kitchen or in a pub or even I could help preparing the daily catering in the Residence. I really like this idea.” – Participant in Spain.

However, far from being a goodbye, SUVOT rekindles to be a solid vocational training offer and a working opportunity, providing people with mental illness throughout Europe with high quality training focused on employment. This is what the three European organizations that implemented the course are going to do and we expect that this could be an example for other organizations. This is the message to be spread during the promotional events that are going to take place in Spain, Slovenia, Germany and Poland during September. As usually, you will find updated information in our Facebook and also in our website.

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What has SUVOT meant in our organizations?

IMPACT IN INTRAS FOUNDATION, SPAIN The impact of SUVOT in our organization has exceeded all expectations, especially those related to the high degree of customers satisfaction. SUVOT gripped and motivated them, the most difficult thing when talking about training for people with mental illness. Twelve people living in the residential home for people with severe and prolonged mental illness run by INTRAS in Toro (Spain), showed great interest in participating in the course. It was impossible to involve most of these persons in other activities offered by the residential home: giving up, lack of interest, and little participation during classes, that was the answer to most of other training courses offered by INTRAS, but‌ SUVOT came and changed everything!

It is worth to remind that SUVOT course lasts for a complete year! Trainers take for granted that some of the trainees will give up before finishing the training. However, they were wrong.

All the pupils finished the course successfully, something that really surprised the professionals working in INTRAS. What is the key factor? Trainees stated that they felt that SUVOT was a very useful course and that they really enjoyed the sessions.

The simulation methodology developed helped them to create a strong group feeling and a safe environment where they felt comfortable.

But, doubtless, the most important impact of the project has been the establishment of a catering social company that hires the SUVOT trainees. We are reaching the ultimate aim: facilitating a job related to cooking and thus promote the independent life of the people with mental illness. This newborn social company has already been in charge of the catering of international meetings, sports events, company meals, etc.

And the result couldn’t be better! Customers were delighted with the meal and service and the trainees were very proud of showing to everybody all the things they have learnt and proud of being a productive and active part of the society.

IMPACT IN OZARA, SLOVENIA It all began in 2010, when Ozara Slovenija National Life Quality Association was invited to join the initiative of the SUVOT project. We were very much interested in the project idea, since in all five of our day care centres the users showed a lot of interest in culinary workshops.

We are proud to be involved in the whole process of development of the SUVOT programme. At the beginning there were many meetings with users and staff to explore the needs and the boundaries we have to keep in mind when setting up the programme. From the very beginning social work and gastronomy professionals were involved.

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When the programme and manuals were ready, we started to recruit participants for the programme. We were overwhelmed by the enormous interest. Although we were supposed to have 10 participants in one group, we ended up with a total of 14 participants in two groups in two different locations. Two groups and two different locations were manageable within the budget and nevertheless provided an added value to the project outcomes – we trained two groups instead of one, 14 participants were included in the programme and each of the groups prepared meals for average 30 persons per groups.

Of course, there were ups and downs within the one-year-course, but the trainers supported each other and with joined forces we managed to bring it to a successful end. At the end of the course there are 12 participants who successfully passed the whole one-year-training. We are proud of them! Also the organisation as such gained a lot – on the one side there is added value to the day care centre programme, because SUVOT enabled us to provide an innovative training for people with mental health problems, and on the other side are the positive effects on the users/participants: more self-esteem, better communication skills, more skilled in managing anger issues, better educated about healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyles, and last but not least, the participants could learn about foreign countries, cultures and cuisines. The SUVOT project also contributed a lot to the visibility and recognition of the organisation in the mass media – they were very much interested in the project, its progress and results.

IMPACT IN CJD FRECHEN, ALEMANIA We look back to a long time together full of ups and downs; in May 2013 the time had come: The SUVOT team completed the last training sessions and closed the project after a lifetime of 12 months. No formal learning was focused in the project and was implemented well. The feedback of both, participants and staff working with them, is a good index of the fact that projects like SUVOT are worth the effort: The freedom in the project allowed for example the psychologist to amplify the personal needs and problems in the group which increased the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the training. Recipes and groupdynamic games from the simulation methodology part used in the project proved to be very helpful and valuable and are already being used by a small German group of “SUVOT fans” working with young people. Compared to formal learning with fixed content and stiff plans it was always possible to figure out the groups´ situation and decide accordingly what to do and what to offload on the trainees. This lead to a very positive undertone; the trainees understood, that it is them to determine how fast and even where to go (into which topics). SUVOT was

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described as throughout positive experience and will definitely come up again in some form or another in interested partner institutions. Implementing no formal learning and handing over responsibility to young people is worth being promoted!

IMPACT IN GRODZKI ASSOCIATION, POLAND Impact of SUVOT on Grodzki Association has been really varied and beneficial. We have learned a lot from the project’s results and partner organizations. As we run educational and artistic activities for people with disabilities, it was very useful to find out about precise training needs of people with mental illness and learning disabilities. At the beginning of the SUVOT project we prepared a survey for 101 people suffering from various mental disorders in Spain, Germany and Slovenia. Key problem areas were identified - professional challenges for people with mental illness, which we will always bear in mind organizing any training to support this group. It is worth mentioning which areas should be developed when helping people with psychological or learning problems: working in a group (1), verbal and communication skills (2) personal motivation (3), goal -oriented approaches, concentration, discipline (4), self-esteem and self-belief (5), dealing with difficult (negative) feelings (6).

We used the finding of the survey to develop a special social skills training, which you can find in SUVOT’s books. We adapted role-playing, theatre techniques used by Grodzki Theatre for many years to create support training for people with mental illness or learning difficulties.

The 90 hours of training of social/work skills were tested during pilot workshops in Spain, Germany and Slovenia. The feedback from learners and trainers was very encouraging, showing how, step by step, learners opened up and developed competences necessary at work. All the exercises can be found in SUVOT’s books – vocational course in cooking and social skills for people with mental problems. The success of the programme allowed us to apply for funding to our Ministry of Culture for publishing the role-playing exercises in a separate book in 300 copies in Polish. We received the grant and have just published the book, which, as we believe, will be useful for trainers and teachers for offering additional training to vulnerable people.

Also, during SUVOT we have developed many new contacts in Poland and abroad. We have created the Stakeholders map – a mailing list of 1000 organizations in Poland who are involved in vocational training and/or supporting people with disabilities. It is thanks to this database that we can write to you and promote the support for people with mental illness.

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SUVOT products

The vocational education market is full of different manuals and guides for vocational training in the field of gastronomy. So, why is the SUVOT manual different from the others and why is it important that the project products are available free of charge?

The SUVOT website, teacher’s textbook, student’s book and DVD are available to the public free of charge. The European Commission supported this initiative and the production of these materials. One of the factors is also the fact that people with disabilities often live with very modest financial means and cannot afford buying literature. It is really recommendable to take advantage of this offer, because the materials are unique; the consortium has developed an innovative approach in vocational training of a vulnerable and often discriminated target group – people with disabilities and mental health problems. The uniqueness is in the combination of sociodrama and different other drama techniques to improve participants social skills, communication skills and coping strategies (the common term in the project is “simulation methodology”) and gastronomy vocational training. The materials provide a wide range of simulation methodology activities, basic knowledge about cooking and include 55 traditional national recipes from Spain, Poland, Germany and Slovenia.

If you are interested in obtaining your own copy of the training materials, you can find them at the project website http://suvot. intras.es/ or contacting the local project partners.

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“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo Da Vinci sub-programme) of the European Union“. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

Contact

You will find updated information about SUVOT project in: http://suvot.intras.es and also in our facebook page http://es-es.facebook.com/pages/Suvot-Project/166486543372824

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