Persons with disabilities, especially those with special needs, rarely participate in vocational training measures. In most cases, they are directly transferred to some form of day-care centre after their graduation from school. However, day-care completely lacks coherent standards and clear legal claims. In addition, legal requirements as laid down in section 136, paragraph 3 of Book Nine of the German Social Code, are interpreted differently from region to region.

As a consequence, an interest group of various associations and federal states was founded in 2006. This group aims to pool and to develop practicable concepts and methods of vocational training for people with special needs. Standards which allow for the participation of persons with multiple and severe disabilities in vocational training measures have to be phrased. Practical experience has already shown that it is possible to provide vocational training for those persons when adequate methods are used.

The legal framework is unambiguous in that respect anyway: Section 136, paragraph 2 of Book Nine of the Social Code states that every person with a disability is able to improve his or her skills and therefore is cultivable. This means, that even people with severe disabilities have a right to participate in the admission procedure and the vocational training of a workshop for adapted work.

The legal framework provides sufficient possibilities. In order to turn those legal regulations into reality, a highly skilled staff is required. But above all, workshops and the persons in charge need to pledge themselves to always keep in mind this special group of persons. Their natural inclusion is also advantageous for the public image of workshops and their performance. Scale and scope of integration into working life as well as vocational training for persons with severe and multiple disabilities in Germany is unique in Europe and can be seen as a “unique selling point” of workshops for adapted work.