ABC- D.E.AF: ADVANCING INCLUSIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION FOR DEAF LEARNERS IN EUROPE

Aims of the tool

Promote self-entrepreneurship and business management skills among deaf learners in Vocational Education and Training (VET).

Description of the tool

Despite ongoing efforts to improve inclusion in education and employment, deaf people across Europe continue to face structural barriers when accessing the labour market. Limited availability of accessible training materials, lack of tailored methodologies, and persistent skills mismatches significantly reduce employment opportunities. While entrepreneurship is widely recognised as a powerful pathway to economic autonomy and social inclusion, formal and transversal entrepreneurship education adapted to the needs of deaf learners remains largely absent from VET systems. In many countries, deaf learners attending VET programmes do not have access to structured training on how to start, manage or sustain a business, nor to practical environments where entrepreneurial ideas can be developed and tested.

Abc-D.E.af directly addresses this gap by introducing a European, accessible and transferable approach to entrepreneurship education within the VET sector. The project focuses on micro-entrepreneurship and business management, offering deaf learners the opportunity to acquire essential knowledge and competences that are not traditionally included in VET curricula but are crucial for entering today’s labour market as self-employed professionals or entrepreneurs.

By embedding entrepreneurship as a transversal competence, Abc-D.E.af supports a more inclusive, flexible and labour-market-oriented VET system.

The core objective of the project is to strengthen entrepreneurship and business management literacy among deaf learners attending any VET pathway, regardless of their professional sector. At the same time, the project seeks to support VET trainers and educators, equipping them with inclusive tools and methodologies that enable effective teaching in multilingual and multimodal learning environments. By doing so, Abc-D.E.af contributes to challenging stereotypes related to the employability and professional contribution of deaf people, demonstrating that access to appropriate training is a key driver of equal participation.

To achieve its objectives, Abc-D.E.af will develop an accessible Training Toolkit dedicated to entrepreneurship and business management. The toolkit will include modular learning content, videos and practical guidelines specifically designed for deaf learners and their trainers, and adaptable to different national VET systems. In parallel, the project will create a Virtual Incubator Hub, an inclusive online environment where deaf learners can develop, incubate and refine business ideas, supported by structured guidance and mentoring.

Together, these tools will provide both theoretical knowledge and practical application opportunities, addressing one of the most critical gaps in current VET provision.

Abc-D.E.af is implemented by a transnational consortium of six organisations from France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Bulgaria, combining expertise in deaf education, vocational training, entrepreneurship, innovation and business support. This European partnership ensures the development of solutions that are transferable, scalable and aligned with EU priorities on inclusion, diversity and employment.

By filling the gap in accessible entrepreneurship education for deaf learners, Abc-D.E.af contributes to theErasmus+ horizontal priority on inclusion and diversity, while supporting VET systems in adapting to labour market needs and increasing their attractiveness. The project ultimately aims to empower deaf learners with the skills, confidence and opportunities needed to actively participate in Europe’s economic and social life.