Not Your Typical Employees
At Bethel proWerk, a commercial print shop established as a
rehabilitation center at the Bodelschwingh Centers of Bethel in
Bielefeld, Germany, disabled and able-bodied staff work hand in
hand. One group prints as a craft; the other group prints as
therapy. They work alongside each other with one goal: making it
easier for disabled people to enter the mainstream workplace.
A frosty morning in December. Peter Vogt is on the way to his co-op training assignment. Suddenly, just as he tries to make a turn, he loses control of the car on the glassy ice on the road and collides head-on with another car. According to the doctors' diagnosis, both of Peter's kneecaps are shattered, one thighbone is fractured, and he suffers from a brain trauma. When he wakes up from his coma, he does not recognize his family and friends - amnesia. A year later, the then 23-year-old was still in a rehab clinic. Like a little child, he had to relearn how to speak, read, and write. His memory returned slowly, but ever since the accident he has had problems with concentration. "From one day to the next, my life fell apart. I had to bury my plans to work in industrial sales. I had to start all over again," says Vogt quietly.
Vogt is now 33 years old and works in the commercial print shop of the proWerk Foundation, a facility for occupational rehabilitation in the Bethel section of Bielefeld, Germany, where he receives professional and pedagogical help. With his doctor's help, Vogt came to the print shop just about nine years ago. His goal was to redevelop a structured daily schedule and gently find his way back to a professional life. "At first, I was worried about being able to handle the work," remembers Vogt. But his doubts were soon set aside. The work, including his first assignment as an assistant in the book bindery, was easy for him from the very start. As he developed a routine, he moved to the press room and learned printing on a one-color TOK. "I have always been ambitious. That is why work has to be more than fun; it must always be a challenge. That is what I like about printing," explains Vogt. Watching him at work - his steady movements and the meticulous way he mounts and refills the printing plates - makes it clear that he is proud of his work. "I can handle lots of orders completely on my own - like printing forms for charitable collections before Christmas, with press runs of 250,000," notes Vogt.
Bodelschwingh Centers of Bethel. The print shop belongs to proWerk, a foundation of Bodelschwingh Centers of Bethel. At more than 35 locations in Bielefeld, ProWerk offers professional rehabilitation for people with physical handicaps, mental illnesses or social disadvantages. They are employed, qualified, and promoted at each location. And an integration service also helps the disabled employees find a job - in the mainstream job market if possible.
With about 2,000 disabled employees, proWerk is the largest facility of its type in Germany. The disabled employees work in various areas: the print shop, horticulture, cable production, metal processing or manual weaving. "We work at a high technical level because we have to compete with private companies," explains Eckhard Spiwoks, the plant manager at proWerk. "We use our commercial income to pay our employees and to finance and invest in modern machinery. Only up-to-date training gives our disabled employees an opportunity to enter the regular economy," emphasizes Spiwoks.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
A frosty morning in December. Peter Vogt is on the way to his co-op training assignment. Suddenly, just as he tries to make a turn, he loses control of the car on the glassy ice on the road and collides head-on with another car. According to the doctors' diagnosis, both of Peter's kneecaps are shattered, one thighbone is fractured, and he suffers from a brain trauma. When he wakes up from his coma, he does not recognize his family and friends - amnesia. A year later, the then 23-year-old was still in a rehab clinic. Like a little child, he had to relearn how to speak, read, and write. His memory returned slowly, but ever since the accident he has had problems with concentration. "From one day to the next, my life fell apart. I had to bury my plans to work in industrial sales. I had to start all over again," says Vogt quietly.
Vogt is now 33 years old and works in the commercial print shop of the proWerk Foundation, a facility for occupational rehabilitation in the Bethel section of Bielefeld, Germany, where he receives professional and pedagogical help. With his doctor's help, Vogt came to the print shop just about nine years ago. His goal was to redevelop a structured daily schedule and gently find his way back to a professional life. "At first, I was worried about being able to handle the work," remembers Vogt. But his doubts were soon set aside. The work, including his first assignment as an assistant in the book bindery, was easy for him from the very start. As he developed a routine, he moved to the press room and learned printing on a one-color TOK. "I have always been ambitious. That is why work has to be more than fun; it must always be a challenge. That is what I like about printing," explains Vogt. Watching him at work - his steady movements and the meticulous way he mounts and refills the printing plates - makes it clear that he is proud of his work. "I can handle lots of orders completely on my own - like printing forms for charitable collections before Christmas, with press runs of 250,000," notes Vogt.
Bodelschwingh Centers of Bethel. The print shop belongs to proWerk, a foundation of Bodelschwingh Centers of Bethel. At more than 35 locations in Bielefeld, ProWerk offers professional rehabilitation for people with physical handicaps, mental illnesses or social disadvantages. They are employed, qualified, and promoted at each location. And an integration service also helps the disabled employees find a job - in the mainstream job market if possible.
With about 2,000 disabled employees, proWerk is the largest facility of its type in Germany. The disabled employees work in various areas: the print shop, horticulture, cable production, metal processing or manual weaving. "We work at a high technical level because we have to compete with private companies," explains Eckhard Spiwoks, the plant manager at proWerk. "We use our commercial income to pay our employees and to finance and invest in modern machinery. Only up-to-date training gives our disabled employees an opportunity to enter the regular economy," emphasizes Spiwoks.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
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