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Description
The aim of the project is to increase the readiness of disadvantaged and vulnerable applicants from the Revúca district for employment. The project wants to: Firstly: Increase the involvement of young, low-skilled, unemployed people into the training process needed to find a suitable job; Secondly: Improve the practical part of the education and training of disadvantaged applicants (severely disabled people, MRC) for the labor market, including individualized counseling activities. The project will also include a pilot development of methodology focused on practice/internship in a social operation environment. The association plans to involve 20 vulnerable people in the project.
The project has 2 partners:
1. Wasco - team, a laundry that gives a long-term working opportunity to the unemployed, women after maternity leave, single mothers with children, the disabled, young people, but also people over 50 years of age. It also employs people, who have been out of work for 15-20 years. The role of the partner in the project is to provide a practical part of the education for the target group.
2. Training center for local and regional employment, whose role is mainly the recruitment and selection of project participants (primary contact provided by long-term work in the Revúca region and its surroundings) and cooperation on designing training agendas (using experience in using innovative training processes).
The project partners'' goal in the future is to use the know-how and lessons acquired during the project in setting up similar activities towards the target group in other regions. This project is a continuation of a successful project implemented through the 1st call of the ACF program.
Summary of project results
The project responded to the lack of suitable preparatory activities for long time unemployed people. The target group we have worked with requires increased time to learn the basic principles that employers usually take for granted and are expected to have at their disposal. The main activities were theoretical non-formal education and practical training in the form of an internship in a laundry. Participants'' awareness of the basic process, rules and responsibilities associated with employment varied. Some had almost no idea of the individual topics, while others did not think about the importance of appropriate behaviour in the workplace or setting habits to work more effectively and prevent problems and complications. Both parts of the training had to be set up informally, with an emphasis on interest and fun, to keep the participants'' attention. In addition to the activities themselves, the participants praised the fact that they got to know each other, and the stress / fear of the unknown have diminished. Participation in the activities was supported by an informal agreement on job search assistance / employment in the social enterprise WASCO-druzstvo based on proof of internship skills. The employment of people from low-income environments requires a preparatory phase, after which the chances of the participant remaining in employment increase significantly. Standard companies and employers do not have the time or human capital to do so. Similar activities are an ideal preparation for future employees and the creation of specialized teams to train this target group has the potential to improve not only the employability of hard-to-find job seekers, but also their successful retention. In the future, within the Valaska Opportunities Center, we plan to implement similar activities for the long-term unemployed from the Horehronie area. The project team opened the idea of creating a specialized employment agency that would focus on preparing jobseekers in cooperation with the employment office and employers in the region.