Personal development through employment

Samhall is a state-owned company assigned to provide Meaningful work that furthers the personal development of people with disabilities. In 2013, 20,000 people were employed in 250 localities throughout Sweden and a total of almost 25,000 had been able to take the next step to a job with another employer.

Samhall is a state-owned Swedish company assigned to provide meaningful work that furthers the personal development of people with disabilities. Samhall offers services in everything from cleaning, laundry and property maintenance to logistics and manufacturing. Its assignment from the government is “…to produce goods and services that are in demand in order to provide meaningful and developing employment for persons with disabilities, where there is a need.” Each year, Samhall must: - employ a certain number of employees with disabilities. - assist a certain number of employees in the transition to employment in the open labour market outside Samhall. The annual target for transitions is 6% of the employees. - recruit employees from specially prioritised groups of people with disabilities. That means that at least 40% of the people with disabilities that Samhall employs come from those groups of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness or multiple disabilities. - reach some financial targets, such as a return on equity (7%) and equity ratio (at least 30%) over a business cycle. Samhall organises a continuous personnel development process consisting of three components: recruitment, development, and transition. The process differs for each employee, but the aim is always to strengthen the individual’s self-confidence and to provide motivation, social skills, and occupational skills.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Samhall was founded in 1980 and took over all workshops with sheltered employment, office work centres, industrial relief work, and certain types of work carried out in the home. Samhall employs 20,000 people in 250 localities throughout Sweden and has an estimated annual turnover of SEK 7 billion. If possible, the ultimate goal is a job outside of Samhall. Over time, a total of almost 25,000 people with disabilities have been able to take the next step to a job with another employer after working for Samhall for a while.