More information
Description
The project promotes financing, support and implementation of training employment for people with fewer opportunities (vulnerable or socially excluded people). There is no systemic support on returning or progressing in the labour market. Without a stable job these people come back to the system of social welfare repeatedly. The method of training employment is functional and necessary, but it is not part of the system of public policies for our target group (vulnerable or socially excluded people) in the Czech Republic and therefore it is not financed or supported. We want to change this through advocacy work at the level of local governments and at the national level. Through advocacy, implementation of round table discussions, conference and media campaigns, we turn to stakeholders and the professional public in order to work on the necessary legislation and combine providers of training workplaces into a strong professional and lobbying platform.
Summary of project results
Vulnerable or socially handicapped people (long-term unemployed, ex-convicts, young adults leaving institutional care, former drug addicts etc.) face multiple barriers entering the regular job market. The obstacles may be both personal (low qualification, addiction, health condition) and social (prejudice, debts, living in an asylum house, rough-sleeping etc.). Having a permanent job is a key element in social inclusion - but its not enough to offer a job, the socially handicapped people also need other support. The solution is training employment (employment provided together with social support and consulting, methodology conducted by members of Platform for Training Employment = PLATZ).
There was no systemic support (state, regional) for training employment, no policy or legal support or granting scheme - unlike the state support for employment of health-disabled or mentally-disabled people.
The project used advocacy methods to implement training employment (or Training jobs) into the state policies and legal norms (Law on Social Entrepreneurship and Active Employment Policy).
In the course of the project we held 12 individual meetings with officials of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as with members of the Social Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and with selected senators and senatoresses.
However, the officials of the Department of Social Inclusion of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which drafted the Law on social entrepreneurship, especially JUDr. Ondřej Závodský, were crucial at the time. We met repeatedly and discussed how the practice of job training could be reflected in the new legislation.
We have succeeded in implementing the definition of training employment and socially handicapped people:
- Law on Social Entrepreneurship
§ 6 The transitional social enterprise reflects quite accurately the training process, including the transition to the open labour market. In the Transitional Enterprise, the employer is obliged to provide psychosocial support to the employees, even by employing a qualified social worker. We also consider the definition of the target groups to be a success. This appears in the draft amendment to the Employment Act, specifically § 33.
- Integrative Workplace (IPM)
A new instrument of state Active Employment Policy. PLATZ´s Training jobs are an obvious inspiration for this instrument in its current proposed form - a combination of a job and psychosocial support with the aim of moving into the open labour market.
At the same time, we are working with ministerial Section 4 on the IPM Pilot Validation. It will take place in 6 KOPs - Contact points of the Labour Office and two locations are directly selected according to PLATZ members - Prague 7 and Most. Other locations are selected on the recommendation of the Czech Agency for Social Inclusion. At the same time, we as PLATZ are responsible for the preparation of the IPM methodology for the work of employers and the work of the Labour Office (from December 2023 to September 2024). Ideally, the IPMs will be launched nationwide from 2025.
We have influenced the shape of the Czech Law on Social Entrepreneurship in the desired direction, i.e. the Permeable Work Enterprise, the definition of socially disabled persons.
We have influenced the form of Active Employment Policy, i.e. Integrative Workplace (IPM).
We have changed stakeholders'' view of the possibility of employing the socially disadvantaged, we have shown the potential of this group of people.
Impact on the applicant organisation (CAS) has also been significant: we have improved our advocacy strategies, we have extended our network of stakeholders and thanks to the project we are better recognised by various state (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Labour Office, Agency for Social Inclusion) regional (Královéhradecký, Ústecký, Plzeňský region) and municipal (e.g. Most, Praha 7, Plzeň) authorities. We have established partnerships with influential organisations such as CIRI and RERA who have links with the business world. A very valuable impact for all the involved organisations (PLATZ) is networking, exchange of information, establishing cooperation.
Socially disadvantaged people did benefit from the project both directly and indirectly. The direct benefit for concrete individuals (former or current training employees) was their participation in advocacy activities (interviews with the media, roundtable discussions in regions, national conference. By participating in the mentioned activities they were encouraged and empowered and their self-confidence increased, they gained experience in public presentation.
The main and most important result of the project is the systemic support of training employment, from which the socially handicapped people will benefit the most (and thus the whole society, as it stabilises and emancipates the individuals and leads them to integration and autonomy).