Description
Intervention Axes:
- Direct intervention with vulnerable groups – long-term unemployed, young NEETs and beneficiaries of social insertion income - aiming to improve their employability conditions.
- Interinstitutional coordination and promotion of networking between employment services, social services and the business sector to improve the living and working conditions of vulnerable groups.
- Intervention regarding social responsibility with the employers, to combat discrimination in accessing training and work for vulnerable groups.
Aims:
- Provide unemployed beneficiaries communication and job-seeking skills to actively engage in seeking employment.
- Contribute to the re-skilling of the participants.
- Establish a link between job demand and supply.
- Develop additional practices within the framework of social responsibility policies of companies and other organisations.
Beneficiaries
Young NEETs; long-term unemployed between 30-55 years; beneficiaries of Social Insertion Income* with low qualifications and a low percentage are migrants
*Financial support for people in extreme poverty, consisting of a cash payment to ensure the satisfaction of their minimum needs, and an insertion programme that includes a contract (set of actions established in accordance with characteristics and conditions of the applicant's household) aiming at the progressive social, work and community insertion of its members.
Countries
Level of implementation / Scope
Stage of implementation
Since year 2014
Aims of policy/initiative
CLICK aims at working as a labour market mediator between employment supply and demand. In order to achieve a somehow perfect match between vulnerable jobseekers (either NEET or low qualified unemployed persons) and companies’ needs, a set of tailored interventions was developed with the following goals:
- raise awareness among companies and employers about social responsibility;
- increase participants' self-esteem, self-knowledge, and soft skills by developing individual and collective coaching sessions prior to their mentoring;
- promote the professional inclusion of vulnerable jobseekers by working closely along all the mentoring process and by minimising risks that could compromise their traineeship success;
- establish a bond and commitment among all strategical partners – mentors, participants, social workers, etc.
Features and types of activities implemented
Professional teams that comprise representatives responsible for sectors of social security, employment and vocational training, education, health and local authorities as well as representatives of other non-profit organisations and employers.
- Initial meetings with local employment centres and social entities to explain the aims, stages, and mutual compromises.
- Recruitment and selection process: public sessions for candidates to present the aims of the project and session for clarifications followed by individual interviews of potential beneficiaries to select the participants.
- Individual and collective coaching sessions.
- Mentoring processes prepared by previous meetings between beneficiaries and mentors at the starting stage, and evaluation meetings at its end.
- Evaluation meetings with local employment centres and social workers.
Resources
At the current edition (year 2020) the financial amount is EUR 65 000.00 (sixty-five thousand euros) which includes the implementation of CLICK project and impact evaluation. With respect to the human resources involved, they are three persons (one coordinator and two social professionals). Usually, the team consists of one coordinator and a social worker at half time for CLICK project in addition to other tasks related to active labour market policies/studies/informative sessions etc.
The CLICK project is developed through an existing Cooperation Agreement between EAPN Portugal and the Employment and Professional Training Institute (IEFP).
Evaluation of the measure
- Evaluation is an ongoing process from start to end, involving all stakeholders (participants, professionals, mentors, etc.) in all important stages: coaching, mentoring. Additionally, there is an evaluation meeting with main partners, like local employment centres and social workers, aiming to give data about the evolution of the behaviour of each participant and his/her relation with labour market (who did get a job; who is still waiting for a job answer; who gave up and the reasons for this); and the results of the non-selected candidates during the recruitment process in order to support the responsible services to develop an adequate evaluation.
- In 2015, the CLICK project participated in the Social Impact Programme with 9 more final projects selected from around 100 candidate projects. The SROI methodology (Social Return on Investment) was applied to demonstrate the investment on the return made. The conclusion showed a significant and positive impact for all stakeholders (participants/beneficiaries and enterprises/employers). The social value generated by the intervention is 1:2.18, which means that for each euro invested, a social return of EUR 2.18 is gained. The most significant impact observed was generated on long-term unemployed (55%), with major changes of efficacy and proactivity in search for a job and also enhanced self-esteem associated to social well-being. An impact on the employer sector was also achieved (39%), mainly with respect to recognising their social responsibility and a better and more effective recruitment.
- During 2020, the CLICK Project long-term impacts are being measured to conclude a multi-year impacts study, supported in academic consulting. A quantitative analysis, based on questionnaire survey carried out with participants sample (from 2014 to 2019) is combined with qualitative analysis, based on focus group carried out with some public and social main stakeholders, in a special partnership moment. The main conclusions and recommendations are currently being reviewed to conclude this multi-year impacts study.
Evidence of effectiveness of the measure
- Good results regarding to the labour market (re)integration of vulnerable groups– long-term unemployment and young NEETs.
- Activation and development of soft skills in order to have a positive attitude to search for a job; increase self-esteem and awareness about what labour market requires from an employee nowadays.
- Call from local public and social partners to new local editions, in order to achieve better results in the critical situation created by current pandemic context (and its social and financial impacts on beneficiaries’ lives).
Success factors
The main factor that promotes the success of this initiative relates to the potential of building a strong connection and commitment among all the project partners. By evolving different actors in a quest to solve daily life constraints (e.g. day-care for children, companies served by public transportation, financial resources availability for basic needs, among others), we can increase the odds for a successful professional integration.
Additional factors include:
- Keeping in touch and show real concern about participants' lives, needs, and feelings.
- Help participants to build a life project and establish goals both in the short and long term.
- Search for professional areas and tasks related to the person's abilities, tastes and adjust to expectations and prior job experience – no one should be forced to accept a job if it doesn’t mean much to the person.
- Choosing a suitable mentor figure to help participants during the traineeship.
- Increasing motivation levels and positive reinforcement, as well as developing positive attitudes towards life, in order to empower the participants.
- Selection of professionals with a great capacity for empathy, resilience and creativity, to promote the creation of solid bonds with participants, which is reflected in the success of the intervention.
- Work with small groups, in order to enhance an individualised process and increase the capacity for active listening and collective sharing. These people often need a safe space, where their voice is heard.
