Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen e. V. (BAG WfbM) is the German association of sheltered workshops with its headquarter in Frankfurt and an office in the capital Berlin. BAG WfbM is providing its roughly 700 members with services like expert advice on questions related to employment, vocational education, financing and legal issues.

In Germany, sheltered workshops are highly specialised facilities for vocational rehabilitation who enable people with severe disabilities to participate in working life. They provide vocational education, work opportunities and support in personal development for over 320.000 people with intellectual, psychological and severe and multiple disabilities in over 3.000 workshop subsidiaries.

In 2021, 93 % of the German sheltered workshops were organized in BAG WfbM.

BAG WfbM advocates for the participation of people with disabilities in working life. It is therefore actively involved in the legislation process at federal level in Germany and also represents the interests of German sheltered workshops in Europe. In January 2015, BAG WfbM opened an office in Berlin to be even closer to the political decision-makers. This has proven to be a valuable step. 2015 and 2016 saw the government passing the most comprehensive legislative reform relating to people with disabilities. The objective pursued by the legal reform was to adapt the existing legislation to the aims of person-centred services and to further implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations (UNCRPD) in Germany. BAG WfbM was actively and closely involved in the legislation process. For example, BAG WfbM was able to achieve that people with disabilities in sheltered workshops in Germany will be remunerated at a higher rate. Moreover, it will monitor the further steps of the process that still need to be implemented.

BAG WfbM is active at the European level as well: As a European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) member, BAG WfbM advocates for the recognition of the services of sheltered workshops. Sheltered workshops are a key instrument for enabling people with disabilities to access work as part of a meaningful process that allows them to be productive and create value. Similar concepts of sheltered workshops can be found in Switzerland, Austria and France.

Furthermore, BAG WfbM is one of the founding members of Access to Work Europe. Organizations of service providers throughout Europe representing the services of sheltered workshops are cooperating within Access to Work Europe.

For more information visit www.accesstowork.eu/