[More than 25 years of successful occupational rehabilitation of handicapped patients].

Over the past 25 years, the German Berufsförderungswerke (vocational retraining centres) have successfully retrained more than 122,000 disabled individuals. Even in economically difficult times, over 80% of the former rehabilitees have succeeded in securing lasting gainful employment, with good to very good opportunities also for those with additional disadvantage. The vast majority of the retrainees have found training-related and disability-adapted employment, and a great portion have been able to improve their occupational position. These facts provide convincing evidence of the successful work of the vocational retraining centres. Investment in rehabilitation, hence, is economically meaningful and profitable.