The project aims at providing integrated support, tailored to the needs and specificities of people with hearing impairments, through development and validation of innovative integrated training tools and materials to enhance their employment prospects and social inclusion.

The objective of the envisaged project activities will be to support sustainable investment in hearing impaired people’s training, by means of pilot workshops and preparation of trainers, in order to increase motivation and self-awareness, create incentives for acquiring new soft skills, necessary for efficient job search, improve job-finding competences and employment performance and thus promote efficient integration of hearing impaired people into employment.

For the achievement of the above goal, proHear sets the following specific objectives:

1. Identification of the key competence gaps and specific training needs of people with hearing impairments in the partner countries, related to job finding, on-the-job performance and employability in general.

2. Identification of a number of occupations (3-5) in each partner country, in which people with hearing impairments find serious difficulties effectively integrating.

3. Elaboration of an innovative training methodology, tools and materials, combining the processes of counselling, training and job-seeking in a single, integrated approach, in order to enhance the employability and social inclusion of hearing impaired people.

4. Transfer the project effects to other countries through the set-up of an Interactive e-Learning Platform and establishment of a network for trainers and employment counsellors of people with hearing impairments.

The proHear partnership believes that it will:

1) Address the overarching education and training priorities of the EU for social inclusion through formal and non-formal learning by putting an emphasis on the needs of learners from vulnerable groups - people with hearing impairments;

2) Undertake relevant activities aimed at enhancing the access of hearing impaired people to training;

3) Succeed in achieving relevant and high quality skills and competences, needed for improving the employability of hearing impaired people and hence for supporting their efficient labour market integration and social inclusion.