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Description
The INS estimates an additional available workforce to be inactive population aged 15-74 years old to 238K people, with a low level of training. Only 1 in 8 people (12.3%) is registered at the public employment service. The participation rate in the labor market, which includes the Roma community, is only 46%. The employment policy stipulated in the Law 76/2002 fails to address the disadvantaged workers, instead the focus is on company grants and not on the needs of unemployed persons. Work placement through Economic Activity is one of the answers to this challenge, AFF having implemented it for 13 years.
AFF beneficiaries of insertion and social services have 7.4 difficulties on average, being selected on the basis of their motivations to make changes in their lives.
The project aims at AFF beneficiaries, including those of RISE network (Romanian partner), in order to create a consultative model empowering vulnerable groups. Advocacy will act on creating public policy changes in 3 key areas: admitting the socio-professional insertion service as a social service, employment subsidy for disadvantaged workers and support measures for social enterprises.
There will be two innovative models: the social enterprise of insertion with services in the urban area and the social farm in the rural area. Both models are to be improved in collaboration with our Norwegian partner, Fretex – a similar organization working with unemployed groups. AFF will contribute to improving social policies, fighting social inequity, promoting responsible social approaches for public administration, bring closer the public and non-governmental sectors, and in the private sector by promoting diversity among employers.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to promote the inclusion of disadvantaged groups facing barriers to labor market access through integrated socio-professional insertion with social and employment services.
Over 450 vulnerable individuals provided insights into the challenges they face, were informed about their rights, and learned how to access support. Through 12 advocacy actions carried out within the project, the goal was to develop a set of public policy changes in three key areas: the recognition of socio-professional insertion services as social services, subsidizing jobs for disadvantaged workers, and support measures for social enterprises. More than 70 vulnerable individuals actively participated in the process of creating socio-professional insertion policies, contributing to the promotion of legislative changes addressing their situation. Additionally, 59 NGOs and 61 representatives from social institutions and local authorities were informed about the issues faced by vulnerable groups in labor market integration, and 53 employers were sensitized to workplace diversity and the employment opportunities for individuals from vulnerable groups. To further combat exclusion, two innovative models were developed: one for social insertion enterprises in urban areas and another for social farms in rural areas, including the transfer of best practices from the Norwegian partner organization involved in the project.
The project''s results had a profound impact on vulnerable individuals, providing them with concrete support by raising awareness among employers, increasing social institutions'' and local authorities'' understanding of the issues faced by vulnerable groups, and offering essential information for labor market integration.
Summary of bilateral results
The collaboration with the partner Fretex Pluss AS Norway was very useful, its representatives participated in events regarding public policies for the integration of vulnerable people through work and contributed with the expertise and know-how applied in the Norwegian system. The partnership primarily aimed at advocacy actions through which the partner came up with recommendations at a political level, drawn from the Norwegian experience. Fretex also participated in the project events during which it presented both insertion methodologies, including encouraging self-representation, and the relationship between authorities and NGOs. The methodologies were debated at the level of the Project Promoter''s specialists in order to integrate into their methodologies the elements that can improve the services provided, namely new methods of integration into the Romanian labor market (Place & Train). At the same time, Fretex helped in the development of the 2 innovative models: that of the social enterprise for insertion in the urban environment and that of the social farm in the rural environment.