Empowering individuals with disabilities through employment

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 54-55

54 SOCIAL INNOVATION: INSPIRATIONAL PRACTICES

SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

© Martynas Vainorius, 2018

Problem addressed

For people with disabilities, opportunities for work can be

scarce and oen unsustainable. People with disabilities are

an especially vulnerable group due to the health- and stigma-

related challenges they face, and persistent unemployment

can place them at even higher risk of isolation, social

exclusion and economic deprivation. Many people with

disabilities also face a number of practical challenges in

everyday life, which increases dependency and reduces

employment opportunities. In Lithuania, approximately 8% of

the population is classif‌ied as disabled, and most are outside

the labour market. In 2018, the proportion of people with a

disability at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Lithuania was

43%, the third highest rate among EU countries.

Innovative solution

Regseda is a social enterprise in Lithuania that has

recognised the long-term problem of social inclusion and

employment of people with disabilities in the country,

and has been employing people with various disabilities,

and specif‌ically visual impairments, since 1959. Regseda

began in 1959 as a factory in Klaipėda, Lithuania,

employing mainly blind workers. It has since become one

of the largest social enterprises in the country, providing

training and paid work in manufacturing to individuals with

visual, hearing, nervous system, behavioural and mobility

disorders. The social enterprise empowers its employees

beyond employment alone. It also focuses on children and

young people, aiming to change their self-perception from

people with disabilities to self-sustaining, socially active

and empowered citizens. Furthermore, the management

and board of directors of Regseda is made up of people

with disabilities, including those with visual impairments.

The board is composed of members of the Union of Blind

and Visually Impaired People of Lithuania.

Regseda also supports the wider community of people with

disabilities, providing a free space for the union to organise

cultural or social activities, some of them f‌inanced by the

enterprise itself. It runs a summer camp for blind and visually

impaired children and young people, many of whom grow up

to become employees.

Regseda has a contract with the National Labour Exchange,

which provides the enterprise with state subsidies that

partially cover wages and assistance services.

Key results and benef‌its

The company has grown dramatically in the past few years

and is now a supplier for some of the largest furniture

producers in the country and internationally. In 2016, the

company generated a turnover of EUR 3.2 million.

Empowering individuals with

disabilities through employment

Regseda

Lithuania

Workers in the Regseda factory