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Description
“Work in Progress” aims to economically and intellectually empower youth former residents in foster care and youth individuals that don’t work, study and have not any occupation. Life / career management training will be held, coaching sessions aimed at deepening the personal projects worked during life / career management sessions, and the development of an App that aims to support young people in their autonomy process. Workshop sessions will also be held with the business community in order to enhance the integration of this youth people in the labor market.
Summary of project results
According to Social Security data, in 2016, 8,175 children and young people were in foster care, and most of them were over 12 years old. The districts with the highest percentages were Lisbon (18 per cent) and Porto (17 per cent). In 2016, 2,396 children and young people were integrated into alternative care, while 2,216 children and young people left care. Despite the indications of the Council of Europe''s Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021) to adopt measures that encourage information sharing and networking, and to improve the quality of care with an emphasis on selection processes, training and supervision of carers/professionals, several limitations have been identified with regard to preparing for the process of young people''s autonomy, deinstitutionalization, specialised institutional support after leaving foster care, the establishment of standards at national level and the dissemination of good practices.
According to Carvalho & Cruz (2015), there is a need for appropriate responses to the needs of young people in alternative care, a lack of knowledge and technical quality among professionals, and the absence of a structured intervention model in preparation for autonomy and autonomous living. In this way, young people report that they don''t feel prepared for independent living and that they don''t receive enough support in this process (ISCTE, 2005). In addition to insufficient preparation for an autonomous adult life, these young people face additional challenges in this transition - which is decisive for their life path - compared to the general population, such as greater difficulty in accessing employment and housing and greater difficulty in dealing with feelings of loneliness and abandonment, perpetuating situations of social vulnerability.
Six training sessions were held with the Young Experts and two training sessions were held with the Proteger+ Network, covering topics such as the concept, legislation, international recommendations, research evidence, strategies and work plans. The 1st monitoring session with the Young Experts was held in June 2020, and the remaining 7 sessions until September 2021.
Two editions of life and career management training were held: the first with 9 young people and the second with 6 trainees. Each edition lasted a total of 35 hours, spread over 11 sessions according to the training components: Vocational project, personal values and interests; Resources for employability; Job search/training; Resources and strategies for job search and search procedures; Communication and job interview; Time management and financial management.
51 individual coaching sessions were held online/telephonically, involving a total of 10 young people.
The following activities were carried out to bring young people closer to the labour market: partnerships with Sonae, El Corte Inglès, Unilever (Olá Academy), ANJE, IOD service and IKEA.
All the young people who attended the 1st edition of the training took part in an online activity with the company SONAE M.C. From this meeting, 3 young people expressed an interest in applying for the SONAE MC job offer. Of these, 1 was interviewed and did not continue with the recruitment process. 5 young people were referred to El Corte Inglés, 4 young people to the IOD service, 1 young person to a company in Santo Tirso and 1 young person to IKEA, but they didn''t continue with the recruitment process either. In the final stretch of the 2nd edition, one of the young people who attended got a job as a shop assistant in a shopping centre in Vila Nova de Gaia. Another young woman joined SONAE.
The ‘Home with U’ APP has been finalised and available for Android and IOS download since the beginning of September 2021. Under the consultancy of the Young Experts, the first year of the project was dedicated to research, gathering information and writing content. During the 2nd year, the APP was designed, developed and launched on the Android and IOS platforms. Since it is an app aimed at the needs of a very specific audience, the APP will continue to be improved. At the time of the final report, the organisation was improving the APP''s design and increasing its reach to a greater number of young people.
The organisation was empowered through the implementation of the action plan, which covered areas such as: strategy, marketing, communication and fundraising, structure, governance and leadership, and resources.
It was planned to train 2 NGOs that work with young people in autonomy of life to adopt participatory processes and democratic management, which was successfully achieved, fulfilling the expected results in terms of the proposed indicators. The informal group of Young Experts was greatly strengthened and empowered as a group, with greater involvement and civic participation (e.g. they created their own logo, started using social networks as an advocacy tool, attended conferences and seminars to advocate for the rights of children and young people during and after foster care, as well as for a more participatory system). The Proteger+ Network has also been empowered and is organising its first seminar. The development of the manual on participatory processes and democratic management has allowed other organisations and professionals who work with young people in autonomy to have access to it and thus extend the geographical effect to the whole of Portugal.
Of the 20 or so young people who have benefited directly from the activities, 6 have entered the labour market. The APP seeks not only to guide other young people in mapping out their professional project by providing useful information, for example, on professional internships and the provision of services and green receipts, but also to publicise organisations and platforms that can help them enter the world of work. In view of the above, the project contributes to the integration of these young people into the labour market.
Summary of bilateral results
According to the promoter entity: The partnership with Oslo Metropolitan University played a crucial role in the project by sharing best practices with the team and providing empirically solid and relevant contributions to the execution of activities and the development of the project''s main outputs: the Life and Career Management Manual, the Participatory Processes and Democratic Management. Considering the scientific research experience of Oslo Metropolitan University in areas such as children and youth in care, NEET youth, and civic participation, their contribution was based on extensive research and recommendations that supported the execution of the project''s activities and outputs. Consultancy functions were carried out throughout the project, with seven online meetings and one in-person meeting between the team and the consultants, who also attended the kick-off event to get to know the project in person at APDES. Continuous contact was maintained throughout the project via email and phone between the team and the consultants. Although there are no concrete plans for continued cooperation at this time, it is expected that contact and knowledge sharing will continue.