Between 2009 and 2021, INTEGRA Institute has been one of 14 providers in the network of providers of employment rehabilitation services in the Republic of Slovenia, based on a concession from the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.
Vocational rehabilitation is defined by the Act on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities (ZZRZI), Official Journal of the Republic of Slovenia, No 10/05, as services provided with the aim of enabling a person with a disability to qualify for suitable work, to obtain employment, to retain employment, to advance in employment or to change his/her professional career. This is an individualised right of the disabled person, which requires him/her to play an active role on an ongoing basis. It represents a different, broader way of dealing with people with disabilities and places the bio-psycho-social model of rehabilitation in a professional perspective. For this reason, it does not limit employment problems and barriers to the medical aspect of functioning, but also takes into account personal characteristics, abilities, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, interests, motivation, natural and social networks, the development of social skills, and the material and social aspects of exclusion, such as long-term unemployment, when assessing a person’s handicap.
A multidisciplinary team of experts (a doctor – specialist in occupational medicine, transport and sports, a psychologist, a social worker/social pedagogue, an occupational therapist and a technologist) ensured the standard of professionalism in the provision of services in accordance with the provisions of the Act on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, the Standards for Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and the Code of Conduct on Disability, Professionalism and Ethics, with a focus on the individual and an orientation towards results.
The team provided employment rehabilitation services for both employed and unemployed people with disabilities and people undergoing disability procedures, social and health care services, and counselling, education and training activities.
The implementation of services and the achievement of norms were supervised by the Ministry of Social and Health Care and the Association of Vocational Rehabilitation Providers. The URI SOČA – Development Centre supervised the professional training and education of professionals and the annual certification of their qualifications.
