European Social Fund in action 2000-2006:

SUCCESS STORIES

Active Labour market

Social Inclusion

Lifelong Learning

Adaptability

Women's participation

ESF Policy Coordination, Employment, Local Development

European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit A.4

Manuscript completed in February 2005 Building afutureforthemselves:Ho&Rucktraineeatwork www.horuck.at W [email protected] E-mail +43 51226773158 Fax +43 51226773161 T A-6020 Innsbruck Hallestrasse 43 Address Wilfried Hanser-Mantl Contact name Ho&Ruck organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed, (ex-)drug-users prisoners,long-term Former Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Austria Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF priorityarea 1984 -ongoing Project duration Ho&Ruck -Gebrauchtmöbel Project name elephone otal funding 1,358,000 426,000 ebsite r get group the communityforex-prisoners Repairing furnitureofferswaybackinto European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 the hardestproblemfortrainees toovercome.” toalifeofcrimeanddelinquency –often is simplyhelpingthemtoavoid returning Mantl: “We alsofeelthatourgreatestsuccessisnotjustfindingthememployment,it SaysMrHanser- pany hasagoodsuccessrate(41%)withreintegratingparticipants. eventually wentontobuildtheirownworkingspaceswithin thebuilding.Thecom- tory. oftherestorationproject,11menworkedonsite,sevenwhom Atthestart In 2001/02,Ho&Ruckrestored2,500squaremetresof anold,disusedtextilefac- Hanser-Mantl. toassistthemingettingaflat,”saysMr homeless whentheyjoinus–sowetry of our work.Somemayliveoncampingsitesorhousingforthe pants isalsopart forourpartici- infindingsuitablelivingquarters stable situation.“Providingsupport also atreducingtheriskoftheirlosingemploymentandkeepingtheminalong-term but This typeoftreatmentisaimednotonlyatsafeguardingthehealthparticipants Social rehabilitation them breaktheiraddiction.” substitutedrugstohelp risk. Forexample,drugaddictsmaybegivennon-harmful medicalstaffwho canhelpustreatandadvisethosewhoareatparticular external says MrHanser-Mantl. “We thereforeemploysocialworkersandcooperatewith have fewqualifications.“We stressed,” dailyhavetodealwithpeoplewhoarevery ofpersonalproblems,suchasdrug-addiction,debts,alcoholism,and have ahistory The menandwomenwhojointhetrainingcoursecomefromallwalksoflife.Many of howtoworkinateamanddealwiththeroutinerequirementsworkinglife. Attheendofayear,learn.” traineescomeawaywithimprovedskills,agreatersense bypracticewhattheycan past experiencethatitisbesttoshowourparticipants theory,” explainsHo&RuckcoordinatorWilfried Hanser-Mantl. “We’ve foundthrough andfocusesonpracticalskillsratherthan “Our trainingprogrammeismostlyinformal Learning through practicalexperience has beenrepairedbythetrainees,theyre-sellitfromawarehouseforprofit. fromthelocalcommunityand,onceit techniques. Companystaffcollectthefurniture carpentry,taught basicskillsingoodstransportation, restorationandsales furniture Onaverage,itstraineescompleteaone-yearcourse,wheretheyare hand furniture. The focusofHo&Ruck’s repairingandre-sellingsecond- activitiesisontransporting, that enableex-prisonerstoretrainforworkinglife. issue forthelast20yearsthroughpracticalworkandintensivecourses ESF-fundedcompanyintheTyrol,a part Austria,hasbeentacklingthis Ho&Ruck, into societyandemploymentadifficultprocess.Nevertheless, Social prejudiceandlackofresourcesmakesreintegratingex-prisoners W ritten in July2004–project reference: A8-AT2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Stained-glass workshoporganisedwithinCREACTIVE [email protected] E-mail +33 143051551 Fax + 33149317044 T 93198 Noisy-le-Grand Le Galilée,4rueGalilée ANPE Address Pierrette Catel Contact Name ANPE organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed Long-term Ta EQUAL ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding France Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF PriorityArea 2001-2004 Project duration CREACTIVE Project name elephone otal Funding 1,380,000 450,000 r get Group lity problems–likeasocialtaxi.” panied byatrainer, drivewithinthecommunity, givingliftstopeoplewhohavemobi- accom- Ms. Catel.“Aftersittingthetestforhighwaycode,successfulparticipants, market. “Theteachingisdoneingroupsandmadeasattractivepossible,”says those withfewqualificationstogetadriver’s licence-anadditionalskillforthejob On asmallerscale,theprojectalsooverseesuniquedrivingschoolmodeltohelp project coordinatorMs.PierretteCatel. to setuptheirownbusinessbecausetheyhadnofinancialmeans,”saysCREACTIVE “This schemehasbenefitedmanyindividualswhoneverthoughttheywouldbeable ness. fromlumberjackstotechnicians,setuptheirown busi- they helped75participants, and craftsmen Promoting localcommerce European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 experience’ ratherthanexams. basedon‘acquiredwork ployed andonanewnationalschemetograntcertificates bytheInstitut del’HommeetlaTechnologie)(undertaken unem- on thelong-term CREACTIVE evaluatesitsimpactandtheneedsofjobseekers throughitsownstudies ding ofadeprivedarea. ofahallwayinresidentialbuil- one courseresultedinthesuccessfultransformation andcrafts, theprojectbenefitsindividualsaswellproducingart: training inarts immediately topracticaleffectinthelocalcommunity. Runningcoursesandpractical Similarly, thethirdinitiative,SEMAville, teaches skillstojobseekersthatcanbeused tothecommunity Services by thisspecialbank(ADIE)arenomorethan togetaloanthroughtraditionalbank.Theloansoffered cial guaranteesnecessary micro-finance organisationforindividualswithabusinessideabutwithoutthefinan- Operating throughsevenemploymentagencies,theproject’s firstschemerunsa Small loansanddrivinglicences schemes toboosttheirentrepreneurialskills. towns suchasMulhouse,Neufchâteau,Lyon, Villeurbanne andPantin,hassetupthree French project,CREACTIVE,coordinatedbyANPE(NationalEmploymentAgency),in always remains.Thelongertheyareoutofajob,theharderitistofindone.But unemployed While unemploymentfiguresmayfluctuate,asmallcoreoflong-term ‘craftmanship’. areas ofthecountry, attentiontodeveloping theprojectpaysparticular or evensetupsmallbusinessesoftheirown.Working mostlyindeprived unemployedtofindwork, nisations inFrancetoencouragethelong-term byagroupoforga- A seriesofinnovativeinitiativeshasbeenundertaken W ritten in January 2004-project reference: A1-FR1 ritten in January € 5,000 invalue.Evenso,2003,

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market T raining inbeautycare:oneofthetraineeshipprogrammes www.fas.ie W [email protected] E-mail +353 16070500 T Dublin 4 27-33 UpperBaggotStreet, Address Frank Nugent Contact name F organisation Name ofcoordinating Early schoolleavers Unemployed Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Ireland Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF priorityarea 2000–December2006 January Project duration National Traineeship Programme Project name AS -NationalTraineeship Unit elephone otal funding 143.60 million 85.55 million ebsite r get group emerging occupations emerging National traineeshipsfornewand European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 support to cover all or part oftheirtraineecosts. tocoverallorpart support companiescanapplyforfinancial allowances duringthecourse,andparticipating Trainees fromnationalgovernment. receive financialsupport FÀS receivethenormal Following theendofESFgrant,nationaltraineeship programmecontinuesto ticipation acrossallthetraineeships.” intonewandemergingoccupations. Theresulthasbeenover50%femalepar- entry sions,” saysMrNugent.“We’ve alsoespeciallytargetedwomentoencouragetheir tions, sowehavebeenabletoattractmanyearlyschool leaversintotheseprofes- traineeship. “Mosttraineeshipsdon’t requirehighlevelsofeducational qualifica- 2000andJune2003,4,300unemployedpeoplecompleteda Between January Increasing accessibility prior tointroductionofthetraineeshipprocess. theskillsofthoseemployeesworkingin sector introduced torecogniseandcertify hasbeen asystem ofAccreditationPriorLearning career progression.Furthermore, All thetraineeshipsleadtonationalrecognisedqualificationsandofferagateway te amentorandskillscoachtoeachtraineethattheyhost. companiesarerequiredtoalloca- companies.Fortheirpart, within theparticipating gramme offerstraininginmentoringandcoachingskillsfornominatedemployees The traineeshipsofferaflexiblemixofon-andoff-the-jobtraining.FÀSpro- manufacturing tofinancialadviceandinsurancebrokerage. eight sector-specific traineeshipshavenowbeenestablished, rangingfromclothing insettingthetrainingspecificationsandcurriculumcontent. Some tions, particularly filling thistraininggap.Ithasreliedonthecloseinvolvementofemployerorganisa- asawayof The nationaltraineeshipprogrammewasestablishedin2000partly Meeting employerneeds existed.” trainingprogramme orindustrialsectorsforwhichnoformal occupations intheservice National Training andEmploymentAuthority).“However, therewereseveralemerging tries,” saysFrankNugent,directorofthenationaltraineeshipprogrammeatFÀS(the “Ireland haslong-establishedapprenticeshipschemeswithinthetraditionalcraftindus- needs oftheIrisheconomy. improving theirchancesoffindingworkwhilealsomeetingtheskills the unemployed.Over4,000peoplehavecompletedtraineeship, developed specialisedtrainingprogrammesforfirst-timejobseekersand Many newandemergingindustrialcommercialsectorshave W ritten in May2004–project reference: A7-IE2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market IT traininginFORWARD [email protected] E-mail +352 426563 Fax +352 434807 T L-1634 Luxembourg 6a, rueGodchaux Address Klaus Schneider Contact name Inter-Actions asbl organisation Name ofcoordinating Y Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Luxembourg Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF priorityarea 2001-December2003 January Project duration FORWARD Project name elephone otal funding oung people 432,427 194,592 r get group training foryoungjobseekers Employability forall: European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 tions.” employmentcontracts.Ithassurpassed allourexpecta- king and17havepermanent Schneider. “Ofthe48 thatcompletedthetrainingatleast12monthsago,24 arewor- of successistoseewhat the youngstersaredoing12monthslater,” saysMr. foundjobs.“Butthebestmeasure ofparticipants On completionofthetraining,60% numbered menby3to1,attractedthetraininginoffice-based work. ticipants wereLuxembourgeoisandtheremainderofimmigrant origin.Women out- had leftschoolattheminimumagewithfewornoqualifications. Aroundhalfthepar- intheproject,ofwhich72% Some 74peopleagedbetween18and29participated Opportunities forchange as officeadministration,organisationofevents,telephone andwritingskills. such technology;and‘backoffice’support nication andpresentationskills;information FORWARD onthreekeyareas:socialskillssuchascommu- focuseditstrainingefforts saysMr.better chanceoffindingworkafterwards,” Schneider. rience showsthatinfactshorter, a moreintensivetrainingcoursesgivetheparticipants thatcouldbenefit.“Our expe- months toincreasethenumberofyoungparticipants The trainingprogramme,originallyforeseenassixmonths,wasreducedtothree measures.” don’t wantthemtobecomedependantonjobsupport the openjobmarket,”saysKlausSchneider, projectmanageratInter-Actions. “We “Our aimistoequipamaximumnumberofyoungpeoplewiththetoolscompetein while offeringatrainingprogrammethatreflectscurrentlabourmarketneeds. 1986. Thethree-yearproject‘FORWARD’ (2001-2003) buildsonthisexperience, The associationInter-Actions hasbeenworkingwithunemployedyoungsterssince Preparing forwork labour supply. minimum professionalandpersonalskills,facedwithanincreasinglyabundant ground, findithardesttoaccessthejobmarket.Employerscanafforddemand Y areundertheageof25. 2000 to8,308inDecember2003.Ofthese,21.8% thenumberofunemployedhasincreasedfrom4,964in years. Inabsoluteterms, ofrecent ithasnonethelessbeenaffectedbytheeconomicdownturn Union at4.1%, Although LuxembourgstillhasoneofthelowestunemploymentratesinEuropean finding workoncompletionofthetraining. % havepaidoff,withalmost60 gramme foryoungjobseekers.Itsefforts growth, Inter-Actions inLuxembourghashadtoadaptitsjobtrainingpro- Faced withanevermorecompetitivejobmarketandslowingeconomic oungsters withfewornoeducationalqualificationsfromadisadvantagedback- W ritten in April2004–project reference: A3-LU3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Establishing aworkroutineiskeyprojectobjective [email protected] E-mail +31 (0)229-242811 Fax +31 (0)229-241430 T Hoorn 3,1625BW Beurtschip Address Frans vanIersel Contact name Raadgevend BureauHetGroteOost organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed Long-term Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € € T € € ESF funding The Netherlands Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF priorityarea 2003–December2004 January May 2001-December2002 Project duration unemployed inDenHelder andworkprogrammefor Learning Project name elephone otal funding 1,500,000 (2003-2004) 684,000 (2001-2002) 750,000 (2003-2004) 187,000 (2001-2002) r get group and socialintegration Stepping stonetoprofessional European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 education or training. Another 37% arecontinuingwiththeprogramme. education ortraining.Another 37% ofthosewhocompleted wentontofindworkorintofurther some40% Furthermore, which, giventhecomplexproblems facedbythistargetgroup,isamajorsuccess. droppedoutoftheprogrammebeforecompletion Only oneinfiveofparticipants Commitment paysoff pentry, painting,graphicdesign,office skillsandgeneralservices. Iersel, theESFcoordinator. Jobtrainingisalsoon offerinthefieldsofmetalwork,car- skills andself-discipline,aswelltogetusedaworking routine,”saysFransvan “Our emphasisisonkeepingpromises.We todevelopsocial wanttheparticipants activities,andrulestorespect. agreements onthesupport, ticular problemsandneeds.Apersonalprogrammeisdrawnup,containingmutual tomaphisorherpar- individualisinterviewed After registeringwiththeproject,every 132individuals. the involvementofafurther fortheperiod2003-2004,whichwill allow grant hasbeenawardedtothepartnership under23.AsecondESF rangedfrom16to65,witharound45% age ofparticipants roughly anequalbalanceofnon-nativeandnativeDutch,menwomen.The Over theperiod2001-2002,programmeinvolved82individuals.Therewas orders.” poor housing,debts,addiction,lackofeducation,andemotionalorpsychologicaldis- ning provider).“Theyusuallyfacemultipleproblems-languagedifficulties,poorhealth, vanOtterloo,projectmanagerattheTritonmarket,” saysMartin Foundation(thetrai- “We’re farremovedfromthelabour dealingwithunemployedpeoplewhofeelvery on track. W cular challengestoenterthejobmarketarelikelyfeelmorealienatedthanever. At atimewhenjobsarescarceandcompetitionfierce,thosepeoplewhofaceparti- T relative geographicalisolationalsoaddstoitseconomicmarginalisation. years, recentlyfacedbudgetcutsresultinginthelossofsome3,500jobs.Thetown’s change. TheRoyalNavy, whichhasbeenthetown’s largestemployerforover175 coastoftheNetherlandsisundergoingaperiodstructural Den Helderonthenorth market. removedfrom thejob andtrainingforthosefurthest of personalsupport a localtrainingproviderandconsultancy, havedevelopedaprogramme tructure oftheDutchtownDenHelder, themunicipality, togetherwith ofapackageinitiativestore-buildthesocio-economicinfras- As part argeting themostvulnerable ith thehelpofESFfunding,municipalityishelpingtogetthistargetgroupback W ritten in April2004–project reference: B9-NL4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market local fairs T rainees getmarketingexperiencebypromotingproductsin www.biolima.com W [email protected] [email protected] E-mail +351 258480289 Fax +351 258480280 T P-4970-249 ArcosdeValdevez Parque EmpresarialPaço–lote24 Address Rui Azevedo Contact name Rural Polivalente deDesenvolvimento V organisation Name ofcoordinating Unemployed women Ta Objective 1 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Portugal Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF priorityarea October 2001-September2002 Project duration S@bores eTr@dições Project name elephone otal funding ALDELIMA -Cooperativa 136,157 102,118 ebsite r get group a ruraleconomy Local traditionsandflavoursrevive European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 from local farmers. from localfarmers. 70,000.Some35%ofthisincomewasspent on buyingingredients approximately producers (www.biolima.com). In2003,productsalesbroughtanincome of V all beenstimulatedthroughthetraining.” “Before thistrainingcourse,therewerenoproducts,brands orworkers,andthishas uptheirownnewbusinesses.SaysMrRodrigues: others wereencouragedtostart Of the11womenthatcompletedcourse,twonow workinVALDELIMA and public. traditional productfairswheretheyreceivedanencouraging responsefromthe strategies. Manyjamsmadeduringthecourseweretaken tolocalhandicraftand techniques,basic accounting,andpromotionselling tion andtransformation 14 months.Thecoursefocusedontraditionalrecipes,healthandsafety, conserva- wassecuredforatrainingactioninvolving12womenoverperiod of ESF support As withanyneweconomicactivity, newbusinesses. peopleneedtrainingtosupport Job creationneedsqualifiedstaff also carriesthe‘@’characterstoreflectmergingoftraditionwithinnovation.” was selectedforourrangeofprojectsasitmeansliterallyflavoursandtraditionsbut Paulo Rodrigues,ExecutiveDirectoratVALDELIMA. “ThenameS@boreseTr@dições ingredients, aswellproductsthataremadeaccordingtotraditionalrecipes,”says “Consumers areincreasinglylookingforassuranceintheoriginandqualityof andjams, aswellliqueursandspirits. tional marmalades high-quality producefromtheregionandtoaddvaluethroughproductionoftradi- V are inauniquepositiontoexploitthisgrowingmarketdemand. withthelocal environment, tinue tousetraditionalmethodsofproduction,inharmony consumers toquestiontheoriginandqualityoffoodtheybuy. whocon- Farmers But recentfoodscares,suchasthewell-publicised“madcow”disease,haveledmany A nichemarketforlocalproduce overthelastfewdecades. abandoned farming have increasing competitionfromlarge-scalemechanisedagriculture,manyfarmers production ofcereals,fruitandvegetableswithcattlebreeding.However, facedwith that combinethe ischaracterisedbysmall-scalefarms Portugal The regionofnorthwest production. on thegrowingconsumerdemandfortraditionalrecipesandmethodsof cooperative intheregionisbeginningtoreversethistrendbycapitalising ofagriculture.However,from adeclineintheeconomicimportance a has suffered Portugal Like otherruralareas,theLimavalleyinnorthwest ALDELIMA, a multifunctional agricultural cooperative, saw an opportunity touse ALDELIMA, amultifunctionalagriculturalcooperative,sawanopportunity ALDELIMA nowhastwoshops andanon-linesalesoutlettogetherwithotherlocal W ritten in September2004 –projectreference: A9-PT2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market A wareness campaignforLugoAbrindoCamiños www.concellodelugo.org W [email protected] E-mail +34 982297264 Fax +34 982297264 T 27001 –Lugo Plaza Mayors/n. Address Isabel Villamor Contact Name A organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed Long-term W Ta Objective 1 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Spain Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF PriorityArea March 2002-March2003 Project duration Lugo, AbriendoCaminos Project name elephone otal Funding yuntamiento deLugo 1,198,733 839,113 omen ebsite r get Group for thoseatriskofexclusion “Opening Pathways” European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 people withdisabilities. teleworkingfor andactivitiestosupport enterprises thatprovidehome-careservices, New initiativeswerealsolaunched,includingthreepilot projectsaimedatcreating courses inarangeofprofessionsforwhichlocalandregional demandisgrowing. In March2003theCouncillauncheditssecondprogramme, offering13new to theelderly–agrowingnichemarketduecity’s ageingpopulation. gramme. Threesuchenterpriseshavenowbeenestablished, mainlyofferingservices titution toprovidemicrocreditslocalenterprisescreated asaresultofthepro- ness. To theCityofLugoteamedupwitha localfinancialins- helpthemgetstarted, adviceonhowtobecomeself-employedorsetupabusi- also offeredparticipants the“OpeningPathways”programme Besides itstrainingandcounsellingservices, Micro creditforbusinessstart-up qualifications. require highlevelsofformal intheseareas,andtheyoftendo not There areplentyofemploymentopportunities with specialneedssuchaschildren,theelderly, thesick,orpeoplewithdisabilities. topeople ofsocialservices The trainingcoursesprimarilyfocusedonthedelivery were women,andnearly18percentover45. completed thetrainingand93foundwork.Around90percentofparticipants During thefirstyear, 210peoplewereinvolvedintheprogramme,ofwhich194 V groups, andtotheindividualattentiongiventheiremploymentskills,”saysIsabel “We ofthemostmarginalised oweoursuccesslargelytothelevelofparticipation andpersonalisedprogramme A targeted 2004, thethirdyearofprogrammewaslaunched. Spanish ESFoperationalprogrammeforemploymentinObjective1regions.InMarch fromthe The programme“OpeningPathways”beganinMarch2002withsupport Wo high (14percent),andthoseovertheageof45aremostaffected(30cent). low comparedtotherestofGaliciaandSpain.Unemploymentincityisparticularly Spainremains The levelofeconomicactivityinthecityandregionLugonorthwest to eightotherSpanishregions. gramme isnowenteringitsthirdyear, andtheideahasbeentransferred tothearea’semployment support mostmarginalisedgroups.Thepro- shed aprogrammecalled“OpeningPathways”offeringtrainingand To illamor, oneofthecoordinatorsfromCityCouncilLugo.

help tacklesocialexclusion,theCityCouncilofLugoinSpainestabli- men arealsopoorlyrepresentedinthelabourmarket. W ritten in March2004- projectreference: A3-ES5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market making crowbars Jan-Erik Falk,whoisnowemployedinablacksmiths [email protected] E-mail +46 (0)65220030 Fax +46 (0)65224307 T 820 77Gnarp Stationsvägen Address Marga Edenståhl Contact name Nordanstig EconomicAssociation organisation Name ofcoordinating Incapacity benefitclaimants unemployed Long-term Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype 2:5,450,600SEK( Part 1:5,547,000SEK( Part T 2:2,212,000SEK( Part 1:2,205,000SEK( Part ESF funding Sweden Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF priorityarea 2:July2002–Dec2003 Part 1:Jan2001–June2002 Part Project duration The Job Project name elephone otal funding r get group € € € € 246,147) 245,365) 606,525) 617,252) unemployed backintowork Encouraging thelong-term European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 for a further twoyearsandninemonths. for afurther unemployedorthosereceivingincapacitybenefits thelong-term to continuesupporting an agreementwiththesocialsecurityofficeandemployment centrewhichenablesthem Following theendofESFproject,NordanstigEconomic Associationhassigned a longtime. ginally anticipated,giventhatmostofthebeneficiarieshad beenoutofworkforsuch while 29havegoneintofull-timeeducation.Thissuccessrateismuchhigherthanori- So far151individualshavebenefitedfromtheproject,75ofwhomfoundajob, A highsuccessrate us toofferapersonalisedand‘joined-up’approachemploymentsupport.” sionally inviteallthedifferentactorstogetherwhenwemeetanindividualclient.Ithelps successful,”saysMs.Edenståhl.“Forexample,weocca- office hasbeenparticularly “Our cooperationwiththeemploymentcentre,communityandsocialsecurity offeredforupto oneyear. isnormally Support education,fieldtripsorskillsanalyses. steps mayinvolveon-the-jobtraining,further ofacounsellor,support todrawupanaction planonhowtoreachthatgoal.The a job.Itisuptoeachindividualdefinetheirownemploymentgoaland,withthe As itsnamewouldsuggest,theprojecthasonemaingoal:helpingbeneficiariestofind group,” saysMargaEdenståhl,projectcoordinatorwithintheassociation. years, andseventoeightyearsofunemploymentisnotunusualamongourtarget receiving incapacitybenefit.“Oneofourbeneficiarieshadbeenunemployedfor15 unemployed, orthose Association launched‘TheJob’in2001targetingthelong-term Building ontheexperienceofpreviousESFprojects,NordanstigEconomic Y ween populatedareaspresentanadditionalobstacletofindingajob. characterised byhighunemploymentandadecliningpopulation,longdistancesbet- Nordanstig isoneofthemostsparselypopulatedmunicipalitiesinSweden.Inaregion activity. Sweden renownedforitshighlevelsofunemploymentandloweconomic simply ‘TheJob’,thisprojectisbreathingnewlifeintoaregionof back intoworkafterlongperiodsofunemploymentorsickleave.Called Individual actionplansandcounsellinghavehelpedsome75people ears withoutajob W ritten in March2004– projectreference: A4-SE3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market about it more learn Health &safetyatwork:Projectparticipants [email protected] E-mail + 44(0)1902423070 Fax + 44(0)1902317695 T WV6 0DU W Paget Road W The CityofWolverhampton W Address Marie Mathews Contact Name W organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed Long-term Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType ( £3.33 million T ( £1.5 million ESF Funding United Kingdom Country Active labourmarketpolicies ESF PriorityArea July 2000-June2003 Project duration Jobs forWolverhampton Project name € € elephone otal Funding olverhampton olverhampton College olverhampton College ulfrun Campus 4.79 million) 2.16 million) r get Group Re-training long-termjobseekers European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 are afoottoreplicatetheschemeataregionallevel. paid workinvolved,therecruitmentbecameeasier,” saysMs.Mathews.Nowplans training programme.Onceitwasrealisedthattherewere jobvacanciesandreal “Our firstyearwasthehardest,aspeopleweresceptical, viewingitasjustanother spects. employmentpro- 91 percentofbeneficiarieswereconfidentabouttheir long-term tion andretentionrateshavebeenhigh.Arecentevaluationoftheprojectfoundthat Some 75percentofleavershavesincemovedintoemployment,trainingoreduca- mised approachtowardstheirtraining,ratheranoff-the-shelfone.” individual sothatthetraininggivenfittedtheirfuturecareerplans.We tookacusto- construction workers.SaysMs.Mathews:“We heldaneedsassessmentwitheach Beneficiaries oftheprojectcamefromallwalkslife,out-of-workactorsto A customisedapproach and safetyatworkthroughtonationalvocationalqualifications.” co-ordinator MarieMathewsexplains,“Training rangedfromqualificationsinhealth technique.Afterthis,asproject employability skills,suchasCVwritingorinterview The trainingvariedaccordingtoindividualneeds,butalwaysprovidedadviceon mainstream work. iod ofemployment,whichincludedcustomisedtrainingtoenhancetheirprospectsfor tocompletea12-month-per- unemployedwere providedwithanopportunity long-term In theJobsforWolverhampton projectbasedintheMidlands,England,some580 Getting through theinterview potential employer, stage. andfindithardtogetto,orbeyond,theinterview fering fromlowself-confidence,theycansometimespresentthemselvespoorlytoa or lackofskillsandexperience,thejobmarketcanseemadauntingplace.Oftensuf- For individualswhoareoutofworkforseveralmonthsormore,throughredundancy often intheirpreferredcareerpath. unemployedahelpinghandbackintoemployment, dreds oflong-term techniques,theschemehasmanagedtogivehun- such asgoodinterview employability. Focusingonfine-tuningessentialskillsforgettingajob, over thepastthreeyearsfromaprojecttoimprovelocaljobseekers’ unemploymenthasbenefited A UKtownwithahigh-leveloflong-term W ritten in January 2004-project reference:A2-UK2 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market

Social Inclusion

Promoting equal opportunities for all in accessing the labour market, with particular emphasis on those exposed to social exclusion

trainer A signlanguageinterpreterworkstogetherwithahearing www.stlvgv.at W [email protected] E-mail +43 316680271-1 Fax +43 316680271-4 T 8010 Graz Grabenstrasse 168, Address Petzi Panholzer Contact name Gehörlosenvereine imÖGLB Steirischer Landesverbandder organisation Name ofcoordinating ing impairment Deaf peopleandwithhear- Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Austria Country Social Inclusion ESF priorityarea (renewable annually) 2001-December2003 January Project duration Get it Project name elephone otal funding 355,298 164,858 ebsite r get group or hardofhearing Computer trainingforthedeaf European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 lic authorities,”notesMs.Panholzer. capable membersofsociety -notonlywithingeneralsociety, butalsoamongpub- “Deaf peoplearestillnotacceptedasequaland ple withahearingimpairment. The projectalsohelpstoovercomemisunderstandingsand prejudicesagainstpeo- employees withhearingimpairments.” their trainingpossibilitiestoencourageandsupport ed toenquireaboutfurther secure theirjobs,”shesays.“Overthecourseofproject somecompaniesstart- improve theirpositionwithincompany, whileothersmanagedtokeepand confidence aswelltheirinterestineducationandtraining. “Someofthemcould According toMs.Panholzer, toincreasetheirself- thecourseshelp participants Positive sideeffects improving theirskillsathomewiththeadaptedvisualmanuals.” and positive.Theyenjoylearning small groupsizearealsoperceivedasvery and the use ofAustriansignlanguageandadeafco-trainerasadditionalsupport satisfiedwiththecourses,” saysMs.Panholzer. arevery “The “All theparticipants co-trainer. ing withdeafandhearingtrainersinAustriansignlanguage,assistedbya aswellEnglish andmathematics.Theyareheldinsmallgroupswork- German, The coursescoverallsevenECDLmodules,includingspecialtraininginwritten Ms. Panholzer. jobs,”explains tofollowtheirnormal toallowparticipants months andarepart-time roseto43.“Thecoursesrunfor nine course. In2004,thenumberofparticipants the Vocational Training inthe Institute(bfi)inGraz.In2003,16peopleparticipated The ‘Getit’coursesareofferedbyNOWA –theNetworkforVocational Training and qualifications andtrainingtobeablecompetewithable-bodiedpeople.” from theStyrianAssociationofDeaf.“Eveniftheydo,oftenlackextra “It isstilldifficultforthedeaftocompleteappropriatetraining,”saysPetziPanholzer Helping tocompete data processingtoimprovetheirlabourmarketskills. employed inlower-skilled occupations.‘Getit’aimstodevelopandprovidetrainingin training programmesduetotheirdifferentcommunicationneeds.Themajorityare oftenhavedifficultiesinaccessing Deaf peopleandwithhearingimpairments European ComputerDrivingLicence(ECDL). training coursesenablethedeafandhardofhearingtoachieve improvetheirjobskillsthroughtheproject'Getit'.The ing impairments In Austria,theStyrianAssociationofDeafishelpingpeoplewithhear- W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: B21-A5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market A postercampaignhelpstospreadthemessage www.gsiw.be www.sokratest.be www.socialact.be W [email protected] E-mail +32 92661441 Fax +32 92661440 T B-9000 Ghent 49 Martelaarslaan Address Jozefien Surmont Contact name Vlaanderen Kamer vanKoophandelOost- organisation Name ofcoordinating Disadvantaged groups Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Belgium Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea May 2002-November2004 Project duration Social Act Project name elephone otal funding 748,400 371,046 ebsite r get group local businesses Promoting socialresponsibilityamong European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 model tomeettheirownneeds. organisations intheNetherlands andItalyareexploringwaysofadaptingthe haveexpressedan interestinitscontinuation,and tions alike.Severalpartners The SocialActconcepthas been wellreceivedbycompaniesandsocialorganisa- and employeehealthwelfare.” promotions,training, thequalityofworkenvironment with regardstointernal “Notjustwithregardstorecruitmentandselectionprocedures,butalso Surmont. “We’re askingcompaniestocarefully examinetheiremploymentpolicy,” saysMs that atleast10morecompanieswillhavesignedaSocial Act. called SocialAct.BythetimeprojectendsinNovember 2004,itisexpected anddrawnupanactionplan,oraso- Four companieshavegoneastepfurther identify waysofimprovingtheirsocialcontribution. isalsoavailabletohelpcompanies now completedthetest.Afreehelpdeskservice Some30companieshave enables companiestomeasuretheirsocialperformance. launchedtheSokratest-anonlinetest that In October2003,thepartnership managementchoices Supporting isations.” to facilitatetheinvolvementofbusinessandactasabridgewithsocialorgan- theKvKOVtookontaskofcoordination ofthisopenplatform, with 12partners “Togetherwhich involvesmorethan80memberorganisations,”saysMsSurmont. ‘Ghent,CityatWork’ fromtheopenemploymentplatform “Our initiativestarted Act isperhapsthemostambitioussofar. buttheEQUALprojectSocial businesses oftheneedtopromoteequalopportunities, There havebeenseveralinitiativesinGhentdesignedtoraiseawarenessamong ing themostofhumanresourcesavailableandmeetingemployers’demands.” Flanders(KvKOV).“It’swithin theChamberofCommerceEastern alsoaboutmak- co-ordinatoroftheSocialActproject ing socialobjectives,”saysJozefienSurmont, “Involving thesedisadvantagedgroupsinthelabourmarketisnotjustaboutachiev- Good forthecommunity:goodbusiness market, notablyimmigrants,thelowqualified,orphysicallymentallydisabled. mately 11%.Nonethelessseveralsocialgroupsarestillunder-represented inthelabour Ghent hasthelowestunemploymentrateoffivemajorBelgiancities,atapproxi- socialinclusion. Act” –theirindividualactionplantosupport eral companieshavedemonstratedthiscommitmentbysigninga“Social FlandersinBelgium,sev- IntheprovinceofEastern equal opportunities. market canonlybesuccessfulifemployersthemselvesarecommittedto totacklemarginalisationofdisadvantagedgroupsinthelabour Efforts W ritten in June2004–project reference: B10-BE2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Nursing mentors support newcomerstotheprofession Nursing mentorssupport [email protected] E-mail +45 20278258 +45 70224644, T Fjellegade 1,7100Vejle Address Bente Strager Contact name UDC-gruppen organisation Name ofcoordinating Immigrants/Asylum seekers Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Denmark Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea October 2002-2005 Project duration Nursing studiesfornewDanes Project name elephone otal funding 2,126,439 999,905 r get group ficulties ethnicminoritiesfaceintheprofession. themselves fromanon-Danishethnicbackgroundandhave directexperienceofthedif- new students,andhelpthemovercomeproblemsasthey arise.Severalmentorsare Theirrole is toguide education, aregivenspecificcoursesintutoringandsupervision. Thirdly, whereby14nurses,undergoingtraininginadult amentorschemeissupported, to meetandshareexperiences.” forthem new awarenessoftheinterculturalissuesatstake,andprovidesanopportunity sion,” saysBenteStrager, projectcoordinatorinUDC-gruppenApS.“Itgivesnursesa forchangingattitudeswithinthehealthcare profes- “This hasprovedreallyimportant inthetrainingcourse. own workplace,areparticipating management. Some50-60nurses,whoalreadyactaseducatorsorcounsellorsintheir Secondly, existingnursingstaffarebeingtrainedininterculturalawarenessandconflict 10havegonestraightintonursingschool. course, whileafurther inthisintroductory mitting toprofessionalstudies.Some30peopleareparticipating tunity toexperiencewhatit’s liketoworkinanursinghomeandhospitalpriorcom- Firstly, theoppor- courseinnursing,whichgivesparticipants theyofferanintroductory approach. a privateconsultancyandCVU-Vest inEsbjerg,havedevelopedathree-pronged the nursingprofession Promoting diversityin European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 part oftheschemeintheirownhealthcare system. part best educationinitiative.Several regionalauthoritiesareconsideringreplicatingallor ofRefugees,Immigration andIntegrationAffairsforthe prize fromtheDanishMinistry The projecthasattractedwidespread interest.InOctober2003,itwasawardeda out,” saysMs.Strager. “With thisscheme,we’reseeingamuchhigherretentionrate.” “In thepast60% Reduced drop-out rate To A combinedapproach ve rolemodelstoencourageethnicminoritiesgointotheprofession. seen tohaveahigherstatus.Thisprojectaimspromotenursingandprovidepositi- staff,whilethosewithahighereducationlevelprefertotrainasdoctors,whoare liary Denmark. Immigrantswithlimitedlanguageskillsaremoreliklytoberecruitedasauxi- Ethnic minoritiesarenotoriouslyunder-represented withinthenursingprofessionin healthcare sectoracrossthecountry. sing profession.Theschemehasattractedwidespreadinterestwithinthe approach torecruiting,trainingandretainingethnicminoritiesinthenur- havedevelopedanintegrated Jutlandseveralpartners In Southern

achieve thisgoal,nursingschoolsfromRibe,Vejle andSonderjylland,together with of ethnic minorities starting professionalnursingstudieshavedropped of ethnicminoritiesstarting W ritten inApril2004 –projectreference:B8-DK3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Aktiv 2001featuredinaTVbroadcastAugust2002 www.nrk.dk W [email protected] E-mail +45 59980182 T DK-4500 NykøbingSj Ve Address Olesen Jørn Contact name Kommune Nykøbing-Rørvig organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed Long-term Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype ( 2,381,147 DKK T ( 1,700,382 DKK ESF funding Denmark Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea September 2001-April2003 Project duration Aktiv 2001 Project name € € elephone otal funding sterlyngvej 8, ebsite r 320,236) 228,681) get group ed tousingauthoritychangebehaviour.” effect’ -itisallaboutemphasisingthepositiveandencouraging self-beliefasoppos- thinking asaresultofthiswork,”saysMrOlesen.“We callourapproachthe‘credo “The youthandsocialworkersinvolvedintheprojecthavechangedtheirwayof re. Most ofall,theywereencouragedtotakeresponsibilityforthemselvesandtheirfutu- fy theirhiddentalentsandbuildastrongerbeliefinthemselvesabilities. wereheldwitheachindividual,tohelpthemidenti- Regular motivationalinterviews ming, weighttrainingandmovement. English andcomputing,aprogrammeofphysicalexercise–includingswim- inatrainingprogrammecoveringbasicskillssuchasDanish, maths, they tookpart social problemsandseveralwereaddictedtodrugs.Overthecourseof13months, Aktiv 2001wasapilotprojectinvolving26youngsters,allofwhomfacedmultiple ures intheirlives.Theyhavecompletelyunrealisticexpectationsaboutthejobmarket.” inthemunicipality.and healthservices “Mostof themhaveexperiencedsomanyfail- what they unemployed youngsters Emphasising thepositivehelps European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ing youngpeople. and differenttriedtested methodologiesarebeingusedinnewprojectstarget- The approachisnowbeingappliedtotheemployment policyofthemunicipality, They arealsomorestableandself-reliant.” employment. “Almost alltheyoungstersarenowmorewillingtofind permanent subsidised. Althoughtheremainderarebackonpublic benefits, MrOlesennoted: fivehavefoundworkandtwojobsthatarepublicly Of the26participants, Closer tothejobmarket “Our focushasbeentogetyoungpeoplethinkaboutwhatthey hassomethingtooffer Everybody approach toworkingwithunemployedyoungsters. SjællandinDenmarkhasthereforetriedoutanew innorth-west lity ofNykøbing-Rørvig self-esteem andfearoffailurearethebiggestbarrierstofindingwork.Themunicipa- unmotivated andhavelittleornocontactwithpeoplewhowork.Very oftenlackof Helping youngstersaccessthejobmarketcanbeanuphillstrugglewhentheyare willing toenterthejobmarket. sense ofpersonalresponsibility, theyhavefoundmoreyoungpeopleare working withunemployedyoungsters.Bybuildingself-esteemanda haveadoptednewmethodsof ers inthemunicipalityofNykøbing-Rørvig Based ontheresultsofESF-fundedproject,Aktiv2001,socialwork- can’t do – so-called ‘resource thinking,’” says Jørn Olesen,headofsocial – so-called‘resourcethinking,’”saysJørn W ritten in August2004 – projectreference: B16-DK5 can do rather than

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market help adolescentsdeveloptrust,cooperationandsocialskills Multipliers inajobtrainingcentrearetaughtmethodsto www.servicestelle-miteinander.de W [email protected] E-mail +49 6207740 Fax +49 3916207750 T Magdeburg Erich -Weinert Strasse30,39104 Address Georg Rohde Contact Name Miteinander e.V. organisation Name ofcoordinating T Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Germany Country Social inclusion ESF PriorityArea November 2001-October2004 Project duration centres multipliers inschoolsandtraining for &information Service Project name rainers ofyoungpeople elephone otal Funding 858,722 549,318 ebsite r get Group T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 its completion. contacts anti-racism, far-right extremismandtolerance.Thematerials,knowledge Miteinander e.V. leafletsabout alsopublishes arangeofbooksandinformation A wealthofinformation des trainingininterculturalmethods. Each courseistailoredtotheneedsofhostinginstituteandinmostcasesinclu- each involvingbetweenfiveand100people,althoughtypicallynomorethan15. Since early2002,about100trainingcourseshavebeenrunwithintheproject, ficult torecognisesignsofxenophobiaamongtheirstudents.” the oldsystemwhereinterculturalawarenesswasnotrequired.Theyoftenfinditdif- project coordinatorinMiteinandere.V. “Manyofthemhavebeeneducatedunder and trainerspreparingyoungstersforthejobmarket,”explainedMr. GeorgRohde, “Rather thantargetingtheyoungpeoplethemselves,we’rereachingouttoteachers young people. to runtrainingcoursesthatincreasetoleranceandinterculturalawarenessamong 2001, itwasawardedfundingthroughGermany’s ESF-fundedprogramme,XENOS, Miteinander e.V. wasestablishedin1999tofightagainstright-wingextremism.In Prevention betterthancure foreigners butthenumberlookssettoincreasewithEUenlargement. formanyyearstheregionhadfew far-right groupsandxenophobia.Furthermore, day economy. groundforthegrowthof Unemploymentlevelsarehigh,offeringfertile Republic isgoingthroughadifficulttransitionfromitsheavyindustrialpasttomodern Democratic German Like manyotherregionsofEurope,Sachsen-Anhaltintheformer this targetgroup. stage byraisingawarenessamongtrainersandteachersworkingwith Miteinander e.V. istacklingthisatanearly inMagdeburg,Germany targeted byfar-right groupsandtofallpreyxenophobicideas. changing, multiculturalenvironment.Theyarealsoamongthefirsttobe Y oungsters enteringthejobmarketneedskillstoworkinarapidly olerance inthefutureworkforce developed overthecourseofthisprojectwillbeavailable foruselongafter W ritten in January 2004-project reference:B3-DE1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Integrating intotheworkforce:Metalprocessingtrainees www.kwb.de www.bqm-hamburg.de W [email protected] [email protected] E-mail +49 04063785599 Fax +49 04063785500 T 22297 Hamburg Kapstadtring 10, Address Wilfried Kominek/JulieChristiani Contact Name Beschäftigung e.V. und Koordinierungsstelle Weiterbildung KWB organisation Name ofcoordinating Y Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding(totalfor3years) Germany Country Social inclusion ESF PriorityArea September 2002-August2005 Project duration grants tional qualificationofyoungimmi- & coordinationcentreforthevoca- “BQM”: Consulting Project name otal funding(totalfor3years) elephone oung people/Immigrants 970,000 438,000 ebsite r get Group young immigrantschool-leavers Opening upthelabourmarketto European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 could helpyoungpeopletointegrateintotheworkforce. trainingprojectsthat onpreparatory social workersandyoungpeopleinformation plemented bythedatabasewww.ichblickdurch.de (“Igetit”)whichgivesteachers, training, andgivesadvicetocompaniesinterestedinhiring immigrants.”Thisiscom- film thatshowsemployersvariousviewsonvocational developed adocumentary fortheirfuture,”saysMr.der jobtrainingasbeingimportant Kominek.“Sowe’ve This, however, oftheCentre’s isonlyapart work.“Manycompaniesdonotconsi- The benefitsofvocationaltraining and employees. inbusinessesasawayofselectingtheiryoungtrainees up bypersonneldepartments intercultural skills(i.e.toleranceandlanguages).BQMiskeentoencourageitstake- scientists, thatcanhelpbothteachersandimmigrantchildrenassesstheirindividual will betopromotetheuseofatestdevisedbyBQM,incooperationwithtwosocial ofwhose work The Centreisalsodevelopinganewtrainingassessmentcentre,part Some 1,500enterprisesnowreceiveBQM’s newsletteronthelocallabourmarket. grant peopleinHamburg. social workersandenterprises,therebywideningthe‘jobnetwork’foryoungimmi- gap,andbuildupcontactsbetweenteachers, has beentohelpclosethisinformation abouthowtogetchildrenonthem,”saysMr.sarily informed Kominek.BQM’s role “Many immigrantparentsdon’t knowaboutthiscourseandteachersarenotneces- educationandworkexperienceinenterprises. three yearcoursesplitbetweenfurther isa The traditionaljob-trainingcoursefornon-academicschool-leaversinGermany A widerjobnetwork do,”saysBQMprojectcoordinator,other Germans Wilfried Kominek. job-trainingcoursesfarlessthan itisnoticeablethatourtargetgroupstart Nevertheless, nies herewouldsaythattheyhaveapolicyofnotrecruitingimmigrantschool-leavers. immigrant parentage.Findingtheirwayintotheworkforceisoftenhard.“Nocompa- Germany,In Hamburg,northern around30percentofthecity’s schoolchildrenareof workforce. to increasethechancesofcity’s immigrantschool-leaversenteringthe centre–BQMisworking aninformation hire fewnon-ethnicGermans, citywhereimmigrationishighandsomelocalcompanies In aGerman W ritten in February 2004–project reference:B5-DE2 ritten in February

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market A trainingworkshopfromoneofthepilotprojects www.operationwork.net W [email protected] E-mail +358-2-4585731 Fax +358-2-4585825 T 21600 Pargas Norrgårdsvägen 4, Address Anita Fagerström Contact name Pargas stad organisation Name ofcoordinating unemployed Long-term Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Finland Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea May 2002-April2005 Project duration Operation Work Project name elephone otal funding 2,522,819 1,261,410 ebsite r get group and communities Fighting exclusioninsmalltowns European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 but alsoacross Europe. ‘Knowledge Voucher’ modeltootherruralandsmallmunicipalities, notonlyinFinland Now initsfinalyear, the projectisfocusingprimarilyonfine-tuningandtransferring the evaluation.” development andinternal contributiontotheproject’s“The researchresultsaremaking animportant on-going successful,”saysMs.Fagerström. ment oftheUniversityJyväskylähasbeenvery evaluationandfeedbackcomponent. “Theinvolve- The projectalsohadanimportant A test-bedforthefuture education, workingorinajobtrainingscheme. So far165individualshavebenefitedfromtheproject,of which89arenowbackin vate sectororganisations. businessesandthethirdsector,services, andnon-pri- which includesnon-government social given to‘guidancenetworks’involvingrepresentativesfromlocalgovernment, skills andmakechoicesaboutfuturejobortrainingoptions.Specialemphasisisalso Each pilotprojectinvolvesaskillscounsellorwhohelpstheclientdiscovertheirexisting nomy.” andguidance,whilerespectinganindividual’s support term owninitiativeandauto- access toaprofessionallife,”saysMs.Fagerström.“Ourapproachisgivelong- “The underlyingprincipleoftheKnowledgeVoucher shouldhave isthateveryone led the‘KnowledgeVoucher’ unemployed. amongdifferenttargetgroupsoflong-term Pargas). Eachmunicipalityisimplementingapilotprojecttotestnewapproachcal- two arebilingualcoastaltownsinthewestandsouthwestofFinland(Jakobstad tants). Two areruralcommunitiesincentralFinland(LievestuoreandKinnula),while The fourmunicipalitiesinvolvedarequitesmall(between2,000and20,000inhabi- ting marginalisationandencouragingemployment. problems. Together theywoulddevelop,testandevaluatenewapproachestopreven- ofruralFinlandwhichfacesimilar to bringtogethermunicipalitiesfromdifferentparts bytheCommunityEQUALinitiative,was The ideaofthisproject,whichissupported A shared experience have accesstothesamelevelofservices.” priority tothebigcities.Unemployedpeopleinsmalltownsandmunicipalitiesdon’t ‘Operation Work’. “We havethefeeling thatnationalpoliciesandprogrammesgive says AnitaFagerströmofPargasmunicipality, overallcoordinatoroftheproject differentproblemstothoseofbigcities,” “Small townsinruralareasoftenfacevery personalised guidancetotheunemployed. amongdifferentlocalactors,andtoofferlong-term, to buildpartnerships ployment andsocialexclusionintheircommunities.Theapproachaims Four smalltownsinFinlandaretestinganewapproachtoreduceunem- W ritten in April2004–project reference: B6-FI3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Greece networkofficeintheKozanimunicipality,Social services • www.mohaw.gr • www.ygeia-pronoia.gr W [email protected] E-mail + 302105224900 + 302103307149 Fax + 302105222380 + 302103307140 T • • 1a GladstonosSt., Address Ioannis Tassopoulos Thanos Papanastassiou Contact name ofHealthandSocial • Ministry • Managing AuthorityofO.P. organisation Name ofcoordinating Socially excludedunemployed Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Greece Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea 2003-2006 Project duration Network Services Establishing aSocialSupport Project name elephone otal funding 106 77Athens,Greece Security Solidarity, DivisionofSocial Health andWelfare GR-10187 Athens,Greece 19 AristotelousSt., 15,400,000 11,550,000 ebsite r get group access thelabourmarketinGreece New networkhelpssocially-excluded European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ation andfundingoftheoffices.” years. Attheendofthisperiod,municipalitiesarecommitted tomaintainoper- of Health andSocialSolidarity,ESF andtheGreekMinistry willbeprovidedfortwo offeredbytheoffices,whichareco-funded Papanastassiou. “Theservices 80inthenearfuture,”saysMr offices todateandlooksetopenafurther “The resultsaremuchbetterthanexpected.We’ve openedapproximately70 theproject isexpandingandgraduallytakingrootinthecountry.Nevertheless, On tracktoempowerthesocially-excludedin findingwork benefits ofsuchschemes,”headds. tant tooursettingupofficesintheirmunicipality, astheyareprejudicedagainstthe areas.Somemayorswehavetalkedtobeen reluc- longer tocatchonincertain remember thattheseofficesarearelativelynewconceptinGreece,andwilltake minorities, 9%fromresidentaliensand6%singleparentfamilies.“You haveto applications forassistancereceivedsofar, approximately10%comefromethnic they arebeingusedandbywhom.”Initialstatisticssuggestthat,ofaround18,000 onhowmuch installed softwarethatwillprovidevaluablestatisticsinthelongterm Director oftheManagingAuthorityThanosPapanastassiou.“Ineachoffice,wehave “The typeofpeoplegoingtothecentresvariesaccordingregion,”says number andtypeofapplicationstheyreceive. offices, operatedbymunicipalorinter-municipal enterprises,arealsomonitoringthe the fromprovidingcounsellingandinformation, are employedineachcentre.Apart A smallteamofspecificallytrainedsocialworkers,psychologistsandsociologists A cross-section ofbeneficiaries ticular situation. andvocationaltraining)accordingtotheirpar- mental healthandsocialcareservices, (i.e.socialbenefitsschemes,health, labour marketaswellspecificsocialservices Greece toadviseandreferpeopleonwheretheycanreceivehelpinaccessingthe ofHealthandSocialSolidarityisopeninganetworkofficesaround Greek Ministry market ontheirown.Asawayofencouragingthemandothersintoemployment,the andaccessthelabour social groupswhocanfindithardtocontactservices The disabled,abusedwomen,ex-offenders,refugees…thesearejustsomeofthemany officeshaveopened. services social support system.Sofar,market, aswelltothesocialservices approximately70 helping peoplelivingonthemarginsofsocietygainaccesstolabour dedicatedto lishing anetworkofmunicipalofficesaroundthecountry incooperationwiththeEuropeanSocialFund,isestab- Government, initiative,theGreek Under aboldnewemploymentandsocialreform W ritten in August2004 – projectreference: B17-GR1

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market for immigrants Studying theGreeklanguageopensupotheropportunities [email protected] [email protected] E-mail +30 2105271513 +30 2105271122 T Athens 10436 Agissilaou 23-25, Address Alexandra Tseliou Dimitris Psallidas Contact name & MonitoringAuthority ESF ActionsCo-ordination Implementation Authority Protection, ESFActions ofEmployment&Social Ministry organisation Name ofcoordinating Immigrants/Asylum seekers Ta Objective 1 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Greece Country Social Inclusion ESF priorityarea 2001-December2003 January Project duration Greek languageforimmigrants Project name elephone otal funding 28,127,835 21,915,236 r get group 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 immigrants Greek languagetrainingfor European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 in findingemploymentorsettingupbusiness. orforassistance opportunities, may applyforatraineeship,otherlifelonglearning immigrant community. Forexample,on completingalanguagecourseimmigrants measurestargetingthe severalcomplementary this initiativeisfunded,alsosupports The OperationalProgrammeonemploymentandvocational training,underwhich isavailable support Further tiative isvitalifimmigrantsaretosettleandintegrateintoGreeksociety.” ofEmployment&SocialProtection.“Thisini- project coordinatorwithintheMinistry steps towardsfindingworkandcombatingsocialexclusion,”saysDimitrisPsallidas, first theGreeklanguageisoneofmostimportant “Helping immigrantstolearn werewomen. mately 60%ofparticipants ond phasebeganin2004targeting7,600immigrants.Inbothphases,approxi- 1 oftheprojecttookplacein2003andinvolvedalmost7,000immigrants.Asec- to encouragethesocialandeconomicintegrationofimmigrantcommunity. Phase ofawider policy The ESF-fundedinitiative‘Greeklanguageforimmigrants’,ispart on themarginsofsocietylongaftertheyhavemovedtocountry. grants finditdifficulttoentertheofficiallabourmarketandasaresultmanyremain and poorlyregulated.Without adequatetrainingandlanguageskills,manyimmi- Theirjobstendto betemporary, orinhouseholdservices. lowpaid struction industry economy,Most immigrantsareabsorbedintotheinformal forexampleinthe con- Poor languageskillslimitopportunities 9,000 applicationsforasylumreceivedin2003. thenumberofasylumseekersissteadilygrowing,withapproximately Furthermore, registered almost800,000residentforeigners,morethanhalfofAlbanianorigin. account forapproximately7%ofthecountry’s population.In2001,anofficialcensus Greece’s immigrants,almostallofwhomhavearrivedinthelast15years,now andsecureemployment. increasing theirchancesoffindingpermanent Greek, training initiativehashelpedalmost7,000immigrantstolearn politicalpriority.social integrationhasbecomeanimportant Alanguage the early1990s.Ensuringtheiraccesstoofficiallabourmarketand There hasbeenalargeandrapidinfluxofimmigrantsintoGreecesince W ritten in September2004 –projectreference: B20-GR4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market place Deaf andhearingcolleaguescommunicateinthework- [email protected] E-mail +33 491370217 Fax +33 491570340 T 13006 Marseille 38 rueBreteuil, Address Noëlline Koprivnjak Contact name auditifs de parentsd'enfantsdéficients Union régionaledesassociations organisation Name ofcoordinating People withhearingimpairments Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding France Country Social Inclusion ESF priorityarea 2000-2006 Project duration of deafpeople professionalintegration Supporting Project name elephone otal funding 738,581 344,778 r get group professional path Guiding deafpeopleonthe European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 training andwork,toencourageamorediversegroup ofusers.” thesocialintegrationofalldeafpeoplethrough “Our ultimateaimistosupport gramme combiningworkandstudy,” says NoëllineKoprivnjak,headoftheproject. “We ablock release pro- inthefuturebysupporting hopetoexpandthisfurther with athirdofthoseassistedundertheage26. emphasisonhelpingyoungpeople, these arewomen.Theprojectplacesparticular ple seekingassistancehaveseverelyimpairedhearingorareentirelydeaf.Halfof isopentoallthosewithhearingdeficiencies,themajorityofpeo- While theservice Helping adiverserangeofpeople been establishedwith82differenttrainingcentres,and151employers. 146wereplacedwithemployers.Links have training programmes,andafurther year.and morecasesevery During2003,atotalof65individualswereenrolledin The projecthasassisted525deafpeopleduringthepastyear, andtakesonmore peopleoncethey havefoundwork.” tosupport vide afollow-upservice workingenvironment,sowealsopro- to helpdeafpeopleintegrateintoanormal explains ChantalMatheron,DirectorGeneraloftheassociation.“Ourobjectiveis andfinallyfindingplacementswithemployers,” fying potentialtrainingopportunities “The processincludesdevelopingaplanofactiontailoredtotheindividual,identi- Career planning,trainingandwork viduals planaprofessionalfuture. toassistindi- Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azurregion,runsapersonalisedcoachingservice URAPEDA-PACA, anassociationdedicatedtohelpingthedeafandtheirfamiliesin average. are,at39%,aroundfourtimestheFrenchnational those withhearingimpairments derstanding oftheircapabilitiesbyemployers.Asaresult,unemploymentratesamong environment, includingcommunicationdifficulties,weakliteracy, andpotentialmisun- work The deafandhardofhearingfaceanumberbarrierstointegrationinnormal alongallstagesoftheprofessionalpath. those withhearingimpairments organisation,theprojecthelps Spearheaded byaregionalvoluntary them throughtheprocessofcareerplanning,trainingandfindingwork. whichguides ple developaprofessionalfutureviacoachingservice Francehashelpedmorethan1200deafpeo- A projectinsoutheastern W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: B23-FR3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market www.youthreach.ie W [email protected] E-mail +353 18892424 T Dublin 1 Marlborough Street, Address Peter Kelly, AssistantPrincipal Contact name ofEducation Unit, Department EducationDevelopment Further organisation Name ofcoordinating or noqualifications Y Ta Operational Programme Employment &HumanResources ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Ireland Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea 2000-2006 Project duration YOUTHREACH Project name elephone otal funding oung peoplewithfew 81,369,816 46,695,593 ebsite r get group (2000 -2003)* (2000 -2003)* school leavers A secondchanceforearly European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 * Excludes certain expendituresbeingprocessed atthetimeofwriting. * Excludescertain work. been madeavailabletoimprove accessforyoungparentsandthosealreadyin bility andaccessibility. have optionsandchildcareservices Since2002,part-time The YOUTHREACHprogramme iscontinuallybeingdevelopedtoincreaseitsflexi- work atsomethingIreallylike.” motorbike mechanic.Ihavealwayslovedmotorbikesand it’s greattobeable myapprenticeshipasa have neverbeenoutofworkandIamcurrentlyserving young Galwaymanwholeftschoolat14said:“Since leavingYOUTHREACHI The youngpeoplethemselveshighlyvaluetheirexperience ontheprogramme.One practitioners inthefieldas‘flexiblefriend’education andtraining. the mainstreameducationandtrainingsystem.Itisincreasingly acknowledgedby national programmewithinarangeofmeasuresthatrespond todisadvantagein Fifteen yearsafteritsfirstcentresopened,YOUTHREACHisnowawell-established A ‘flexiblefriend’intraining fromhairdressingtocomputing.” sports, choose fromarangeofdifferentvocationaltrainingoptions,photographyto well asprideintheirownabilitiesandwork,”saysMrStokes.“Theyalsogetto “We andidentity, senseofself-worth focusheavilyondevelopingparticipants’ as rural andurbancommunities. centres arelocatedthroughoutthecountry, mostlyindisadvantagedareasboth education, vocationaltrainingandworkexperience.Some76YOUTHREACH vers agedbetween15and20,isdesignedtoofferacombinationofgeneral YOUTHREACH isthenationalresponsetoneedsofunqualifiedearlyschoollea- Building confidenceandcompetence tificate.” labour marketwithnoqualifications,compared9.6%forthosealeavingcer- Science. “Researchshowsthattheunemploymentrateis47.5%forthoseentering ofEducationand Stokes, YOUTHREACHnationalcoordinatorintheDepartment “It’s theseyoungpeoplethatarethemostvulnerableinlabourmarket,”saysDermot cate. 11,000 youngsters,some15%ofallschool-leavers,havenotgainedaleavingcertifi- around school.Furthermore, lifications. Another1,000donottransferfromprimary educationwithnoqua- yearinIrelandaround2,000childrenleavesecondary Every educationandtraining,ortoenterthelabourmarket. further in2003,ofwhicharound75%havegoneontoundertake participated through thenationalinitiativeYOUTHREACH.Some4,600youngpeople second chancetoaccessgeneraleducationandvocationaltraining Y oung school-leavers,withfewornoqualifications,arebeinggivena W ritten in June2004–project reference: B15-IE4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Inmates learn newskills Inmates learn Duncan Phillips/reportdigital.co.uk www.enaip.sardegna.it W [email protected] E-mail +39 0706791245 Fax +39 07067911 T 09037 SanGavinoMonreale V Address Eligio Cincotti Contact name Enaip Sardegna organisation Name ofcoordinating prisoners Former Ta Objective 1 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Italy Country Social Inclusion ESF priorityarea 2004 March 2003-February Project duration Multi-training inIsArenasprison Project name elephone otal funding ia Roma,235 260,294 130,147 ebsite r get group Starting a new life after serving time anewlifeafterserving Starting European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 former prisonersoverthenexttwoyears. former were abletocompletetheircourse.Theprojectintends monitortheprogressof moving toanotherprison.Similarly, foodtechnology students fiveofthefourteen qualification, whiletheotherswereunabletofinishdue to endingtheirsentenceor Five outofthefifteenprisonersfollowingmechanics courseobtainedthefinal the successofproject.” prison. Thetrainers,halfofwhomwerewomen,playedanessentialroleinensuring them fortheoutsideworld,courseshelpedtopromoteintegrationwithin oners ashumanbeingsandworkers,”saysMrCincotti.“Aswellpreparing individuals readapttosocietymoregenerally. “Ouraimwastohelpreintegratepris- In additiontoprovidingprofessionalskills,thetrainingwasalsodesignedhelp Facilitating integration anddifficultiesinthelabourmarket.” mation onopportunities andalsoincludedpracticalinfor- topics, theycoveredgeneralskillslikeinformatics lasted 600hours,”explainsEligioCincottiofEnaipSardegna.“Aswellastechnical “The trainingcoursesweremadeupoftheoreticalandpracticalcomponents and thelocalpolicechief. were introducedatIsArenasprisonfollowinganinitiativebytheauthorities of detention,soontobefacedwiththechallengere-enteringworkinglife.They and foodtechnology. atthoseinthefinalphase Thecourseswereaimedinparticular put togethertwocoursesofferingprisonersprofessionalqualificationsinmechanics The SardiniaregionandEnaipSardegna,aregionalnetworkoftraininginstitutions, A returntoworkinglife tences end. tothelabourmarketoncetheirsen- in prisonstohelpprepareinmatesforareturn tion intheirworkinglives.Thissuggeststhereisarealneedforprofessionaltraining time,duebothtolowqualificationsandlackofdirec- professional lifeafterserving Experience showsthatmanyprisonersfaceseveredifficultiesinreintegratinginto tences atIsArenasprisoninSardinia. release. Courseswereofferedto29inmatesnearingtheendoftheirsen- of anItalianprojecttoprovideprofessionaltrainingprisonersprior The reintegrationofex-offendersintoworkinglifehasbeenthemainaim W ritten in October2004 -projectreference: B24-IT3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market A campaignposterpromotesworkfortheover45s www.over45.org W [email protected] E-mail +39 0403788809 Fax +39 0403788836 T 34137 Trieste (TS) V Address Paola Catalano Contact name diTriesteFormativi ENAIP FuiuliVG,CentroServizi organisation Name ofcoordinating Older people,women Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Italy Country Social Inclusion ESF priorityarea June 2002-2004 Project duration Over 45 Project name elephone otal funding ia Dell'Istria,57 1,174,416 587,208 ebsite r get group for theover45s Promoting anactiveworkinglife European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 people.” –whichis nowbecomingareferencepointonunemploymentamongolder tion “We’ve insettinguptheirownindependent associa- participants alsosupported based onourexperience,”saysMs.Catalano. for alawtotheregionalgovernment “We’re nowpublishingabrochure onourresultsandhavepresentedaproposal Local associationtakesupthechallenge manent employmentcontracts. Three ofthesevenpeoplewhohavecompletedtheirplacement havereceivedper- the chancetotestnewemployees,andgivingtrainees practicalworkexperience. Finally, infive-monthworkplacements,givingemployers 25peoplehavetakenpart ing foraninterview. designingaCVandprepar- classes inbasicEnglish,computing,self-empowerment, andincluded A specialisedtrainingprogrammeattractedsome265participants, focusing ontheindividual’s technicalandprofessionalskillsworkexpectations. incounsellingsessions 1,226 peopleregisteredtheirinterest,and955tookpart connectedtojobsearch.Some centresnotnormally associations andotherservice contact pointsweresetupacrossthetownofTrieste inlocalhealthcentres,housing ing employmentandencouraginglocalemployerstorecruitolderpeople.Nineteen olderjobseekersinfind- EQUAL project‘Over45’aimedtofillthegapbysupporting oftheneedsthis targetgroup. fallshort lic employmentservices the populationofwomenagedbetween55and64areunemployed.Oftenpub- ed. Women finditdifficulttoaccessthejobmarketandmorethanhalf inparticular In suchacompetitivelabourmarket,peopleover45areoftenthefirsttobeexclud- Unemployment highestamongolderwomen andinsecure.” trade sectorstendtobetemporary and a hugecapacitytoabsorbnewworkers,andthejobscreatedwithinservice isdominatedbysmallbusinessesthatdon’t have ourindustry Over 45.“Furthermore, tion anddecliningindustry,” saysPaolaCatalano,coordinatoroftheEQUALproject in realitythenumberislikelytobefargreater. “We arefacedwithanageingpopula- While theofficialnumberofunemployedinregionFruiliVenezia Giuliais3,000, help fromtheproject. ticipated intraining,while157havere-enteredthelabourmarketwith labour market.ThroughEQUALproject‘Over45’,265peoplehavepar- inthe of 45arereceivingahelpinghandtoprolongtheirparticipation In theregionofFriuliVenezia Italy, Giulia,north-east peopleovertheage W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: B22-IT2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Proactif share their experience with partners inFinland Proactif sharetheirexperiencewithpartners http://www.proactif.lu/ W [email protected] E-mail +352-26540263 Fax +352-265450150 T L-3801 Schifflange Boîte Postale67 Pro Actifa.s.b.l Address Schadeck Robert Contact Name Proactif organisation Name ofcoordinating homeless, ex-offenders unemployed, Long-term Ta EQUAL ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Luxembourg Country Social inclusion ESF PriorityArea funded throughtheLuxembourggovernment) (a projectextensionJan2003–Dec2004is November 2001–December2003 Project duration Reseau RPM Project name elephone otal Funding 1,128,225 564,112 ebsite r get Group Closing thegapthrough networking European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 work ofvolunteers. and assistancefortrainers,stronger collaborationwithprisons,andwideningthenet- training Other projecttasksincludeinstalling adatabasedevelopedin2003,further to 40hoursperweek,andwillreceiveasmallfinancial compensationinreturn. mustcommit res intoanofficiallyrecognisedthreemonthprogramme. Participants Over thecomingyear, measu- aimtocombinedifferentempowerment thepartners vidual’s socialand/orprofessionalsituation. ties. Inaround70percentofcases,theprojecthassucceeded instabilisingtheindi- in2003,throughover600differentactivi- Almost 400individualsweresupported them inpracticalissues(housing,healthorhygiene). orguide social activities,organisecollectiveevents,offervolunteering opportunities, ofexclusion.Theyaccompanythemin to beneficiariessufferingdifferentforms In additiontothismorestrategicactivity, givepracticalsupport theprojectpartners Practical andpsycho-socialassistance intothelabourmarket”. integration aswelltheir(re-)entry and monitoranindividual’s support social level. Itwillhelptheemploymentservices account ofanindividual’s psycho-socialcharacteristicswillbeadoptedatnational mes,” saysMr. Schadeck.“Forexample,wehopeourassessmentsystemthattakes toexistingprofessionalintegrationprogram- that ouractivitiesarecomplementary The nationalemploymentadministrationisalsoakeypartner. “We wanttoensure ex-offenders. for organisation involvedintheproject,Diskus,specialisessupport governmental includinghousingforthehomeless.Theother non- and psycho-socialsupport on employmentintegration,whileCaritasandCentreEmmanueloffercounselling ProactifandForumpourl’Emploifocusprimarily The projectinvolvessixpartners. bute theirownspecialisation,sowecanbettermeeteachindividual’s needs.” from Proactif.“Byworkingtogether, we’vefoundthateachorganisationcancontri- Schadeck,projectcoordinator blems facedbythistargetgroup,”explainsRobert “It’s quitedifficultforanysingleorganisationtofindsolutionstherangeofpro- services Complementary andsocialisationneedtobetaken. living space,self-empowerment special attentionbeforetheycanaccessthejobmarket.Stepssuchasimprovingtheir A cycleofdependencyisdifficulttobreak.Thosesufferingfromsocialexclusionneed through thenet. to ensurethatindividualsfacingvariedandmultipledifficultiesdonotfall nalised. InLuxembourg,anumberofassociationsareworkingtogether Professional integrationprogrammescanoftenexcludethemostmargi- W ritten in January 2004-project reference:B1-LU1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Park life:newemploymentforanex-LigueHMCtrainee www.ligue-hmc.lu W [email protected] E-mail +352 305101 Fax +352 021260347 +352 309231220 T L-8301 Capellen 82 routed’Arlon,B.P. 49 Address Roland Kolber Contact name Ligue HMCasbl organisation Name ofcoordinating People withintellectualdisabilities Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype Tota Assisted Employment: Bureau Service: T Tota Assisted Employment: Bureau Service: ESF funding Luxembourg Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea extended toDec2004 2000-December2003/ January Project duration 2. AssistedEmployment 1. BureauService Project name elephone otal funding ebsite r get group l: l: € € 1,773,249 797,962 € € 291,832 131,324 € € 1,481,417 666,638 re skillsfortheworkplace People withmentaldisabilitiesacqui- European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 workplace bylocalemployers,”saysMrKolber. project isworkingand,mostimportantly, ourtraineesarebeingacceptedintothe ESF butbylocalauthorities,intwootherregionsofLuxembourg. Itshowsthatthe “We’re nowplanningtoreplicate ourschemes,thatarenolongerfundedbythe bytheirside. instructor permanently blems aredeveloping,ortheyworktogetherinasmallgroup (fourpeople),withan employees theneitherreceiveaweeklyvisitfromtheir instructor tochecknopro- initial meetingswiththeemployertoallayanyfears oneitherside.Thenew Under thisworkscheme,aqualifiedinstructoraccompaniesanindividualtotheir alwayscloseathand Support outsimplemaintenancetasks,suchasgardening,cookingorcleaning.” carry homes, smallprivatebusinessesandthetownpark,”saysMrKolber. “There,they potential employer. “We’ve nowmanaged tosecurejobsforpeopleinoldpeoples’ workshopbeforetheyvisita inasupervised centre offerspre-trainingtoparticipants employment) -dedicatedtohelpingindividualssecureworkoutsidethecentre.The schemes: thefirst– Among otherworkshops,daycentresandhousingprojects,theLigueofferstwokey A simulatedworkenvironment finding ajob. degreesofmentaldisabilitycanimprovetheirskillsandreceiveassistancein varying asbl inCapellen,Luxembourg,hassetupa“protectedworkshop”wherepeoplewith Toand challengingundertaking. easetheirintegrationintoemployment,theLigueHMC tions andnewdemands.Consequentlytheycanfindenteringtheworkforceadifficult People withintellectualdisabilitiesneedtimetounderstand,andadjustto,newsitua- sation isnowexpandingitsactivitiestotwonewregionsofLuxembourg. experience, theschemesaresosuccessfulthatcoordinatingorgani- andwork employment havebeensetup.Providingclosesupervision difficultiesintosocietyand cated tointegratingpeoplewithlearning Based inthetownofCapellen,southwestLuxembourg,twoprojectsdedi- At thesametime,LigueHMCrunsalargerscheme–“ to defuseanyproblemsimmediately,” saysprojectcoordinatorRolandKolber. in itatanyonetime–tokeepacloseeyeonhowindividualsaredevelopingand and brochures.“We liketokeeptheofficesmall–aroundfivesixpeoplecanwork ande-mail,aswellhowtoprintbusinesscards how tousecomputers,theInternet constantlybyaneducationalassistant,theylearn ce inasimulatedoffice.Supervised bureau service W - enables participants togainworkexperien- - enablesparticipants ritten in July2004–project reference: B13-LU4 emploi assisté ” (assisted

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Learning on the job: a participant onanASTIscheme onthejob:aparticipant Learning www.asti.lu W [email protected] E-mail + 352420871 Fax + 352438333 T L-1922 Luxembourg 10-12 rueAugusteLaval Address Monica Terzi Contact name ASTI organisation Name ofcoordinating Asylum-seekers Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Luxembourg Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea (extension untilJune2004) May 2002-December2003 Project duration (Overcoming obstacles) “Franchir lesobstacles” Project name elephone otal funding 301,260 150,630 ebsite r get group A helpinghandforasylum-seekers European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 in the EU, of which ASTI forms apart. in theEU,ofwhichASTIforms ASYCULT,national partnership alsodedicatedtotheintegrationofasylum-seekers fromtheproject arebeingfedintotheEuropeantrans- The resultsandlessonslearnt provide ausefullinktomyfuturelife.” my life–andIhopetheworkexperiencenew knowledgeofFrenchwill “This projectmademefeellessaloneduringadifficultperiodof an ex-participant: with thecommunityandothermembersofgroup.Says Tatyana Novosselova, ontheatre tripsandgroupactivitiestobringthemintoclosercontact participants ofitsholisticapproach totheasylum-seekers’situation,projectalsotook As part ofthecommunityreducesisolation Becoming part confidenceinlookingforworkelsewhere. gave participants saysMsTerzi.them inthelongterm,” placementswerefoundand Nevertheless, paid. Consequently, wantedustofindthemworkthatwouldbenefit theparticipants ful inthis,itwassomeofthehardestworkwehadtodo,ascouldnotbe ged forsix-monthworkplacementsinlocalcompanies.“Althoughweweresuccess- At thesametime,projectorganisedcomputerclassesforstudentsandarran- to findaplaceinnewsocietyand,throughlanguage,itsculture,”saysMsTerzi. isagreatway thelanguageofhostcountry French languageclasses.“Learning and assistedbyLuxembourg’s CentredeLangues,ASTIorganisedseveralhoursof coordinator. intotheirnewsurroundings, Asafirststeptointegratingparticipants says MonicaTerzi, keentotakepart,” Africa –andtheywereallvery ASTIproject in2004.“Theycamefromallover–south-eastEurope,Asia and other 25tookpart inthisproject,and an- Between 2002and2003,some21asylum-seekerstookpart Learning thelanguageopensdoors and societyasawhole. language andcomputerskills,aswelltheirchancesofenteringthelabourmarket, toimprovetheir changing thissituationbyprovidingasylum-seekerswithopportunities their hostcountry. “Franchirlesobstacles/Overcomingobstacles”hasbeenworkingon tain ofobstaclestoovercomebeforetheycanfeeltrulyintegratedintothesociety Arriving inEuropeunsureoftheirrightsandoftenalone,asylum-seekersfaceamoun- organisation. governmental run bytheAssociationdeSoutienauxTravailleurs Immigrés(ASTI),anon- Helping themthroughthisinLuxembourg,however, isanEQUALproject andguidance. selves intonewsocietieswithminimalornosupport to country, theyallfacethecommonproblemof“mainstreaming”them- While thelegalsituationofasylum-seekersinEuropevariesfromcountry W ritten in August2004 – projectreference: B18-LU5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market ted workconditions In theworkshop:atraineeimproveshisskillsundersimula- Info@praktijkschoolhulst. nl E-mail +31 114320644 Fax +31 114312132 T NL-4561 WEHulst Frederik Hendriklaan16, Address Karel Kerckhaert Contact name Culture andScience ofEducation, Dutch Ministry organisation Name ofcoordinating difficulties Students withlearning Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding The Netherlands Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea 2002-December2003 January Project duration VO PracticalTraining Project name elephone otal funding 334,337 151,900 r get group with learningdifficulties Opening upthejobmarkettopeople European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 years now, and94%ofourstudentsgoontopaid employment.” year. “We’ve SaysMrKerckhaert: beeninvolvedinthiskindoftrainingfor10 students havefoundwork,withthenumberexpectedto rise to30bytheendof promising.Intheyears2002-2003,25outof30 Results fromthisprojectarevery Convincing results to callonthecollegeforaftercareaperiodoftwoyearsafterleaving. students arefree referring studentstoagenciesandofferingpracticalsolutions.”Former by “Inmostcases,weintervene from workifthereareproblems,”saysMrKerckhaert. dents keeptheirjobs.“Sometimespeopleinthissomewhatvulnerablegroupstayaway eight students–isdemanding.Thesamegoesfortheaftercareneededtoensurestu- theworkplacementseffectively–withonememberofstafftakingcare Supervising training isfinished,wetakeit.You chance.” havetocapitaliseonevery comesupbeforethe jobuponcompletion.Ifanopportunity ted intoapermanent successfully negotiateaworkplacementinHulst,itisonconditionthatconver- “Whenwe SaysprojectcoordinatorKarelKerckhaert: cement foritsparticipants. But experienceisnottheonlygoalofproject.Italsostrivestofindaworkpla- A realjobattheend job market,theyalreadyhaveworkexperience. in ateamandhandlingdifficultcustomers.Thisway, bythetimestudentsapproach practice theirtradeandimproveskillsrequiredontheshopfloor-forinstance,working which closelyresemblearealworksituation.Undersimulatedconditions,studentscan Entitled “VOPracticalTraining”, theprojectoffers studentsexperienceinenvironments ofEducation,CultureandScience. courses runundertheaegisofDutchMinistry subjectsarebeingofferedassistancethroughspecialeducation len behindincertain of theNetherlands,studentswithanIQbetween60and80whohaveseriouslyfal- Sometimes extrahelpisrequiredtogetafootonthecareerladder. IntheHulstarea Education onitsownisnotsufficienttopreparesomeyoungpeopleforthejobmarket. pants goontopaidemployment. andaftercare,ahighpercentageofcoursepartici- intensive supervision through the“PraktijkschoolHulst”collegeinNetherlands.Providing their self-confidence,improveskillsandaccessthejobmarket difficultiestoboost A chanceisbeingofferedtostudentswithlearning W ritten in July2004–project reference: B14-NL5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market A disabled employee in the carpentry workshop A disabledemployeeinthecarpentry [email protected] E-mail +351 227537700 T V P-4404-075 Arcozelo- Av Address Jerónimo deSousa Contact name Centre Gaia Vocational Rehabilitation organisation Name ofcoordinating People withdisabilities Ta Objective 1 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Portugal Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea Annual programme Project duration Centre Gaia Vocational Rehabilitation Project name elephone otal funding ila NovadeGaia 5,167,491 3,875,618 . JoaoPauloII, r get group with disabilities Professional integrationofpeople European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 competitive inpriceandquality,” saysMrdeSousa. “We areappealingtothe‘socially-responsible’consumermarket, aswellbeing CRPG, where14ofthe22employeesaredisabled. workshoprunby business. Shelteredemploymentisalsoavailableinacarpentry ning between1992and2003,70%haveeitherfound workorsetuptheirown needs andrehabilitationplans.Ofthe770clientsthatcompleted avocationaltrai- A widerangeofvocationaltrainingoptionsarealsoon offer, tailoredtoindividual ting andnegotiatingwithclients,”saysMr. deSousa. aswelltraininginbusinessmanagementandcontac- lities andtechnicalsupport “Wenow completedtheprogrammeandanother10havejust started. providefaci- up ateleworkbusiness.Establishedtwoyearsago,18people withdisabilitieshave offeredby CRPG isassistancewithsetting services One oftheemploymentsupport Creating self-employment situation hasimproved.” moreinsociety,activities, theyparticipate theyvotemore,andthattheireconomic inCRPGandotherinstitutions’ Almost allrespondentsclaimedthat,sincetakingpart ed some2,500peoplewithdisabilitieswhohaveused,orareusing,thoseservices. onclients’qualityoflife,”saysMrdeSousa.“Werehabilitation services interview- toevaluatetheimpactofvocational “In 2002-2003,weconductedasurvey of technicalaids,tovocationaltrainingandemploymentsupport. year, fromrehabilitationandtheprescription towhomtheyofferarangeofservices run byandforpeoplewithdisabilities.Today theyhavealmost2,000clientsper for Training agency, andEmployment,agovernmental andtwoprivateorganisations betweentheInstitute CRPG wasestablishedin1992,astheresultofapartnership W cities, butalsotochangethewaysociety, employers,viewdisability.” andparticularly CRPG. “We arethereforeworkingnotonlytohelpdisabledpeopledeveloptheircapa- ween disabledpeopleandtheirenvironment,”saysJerónimodeSousa,directorof “As weseeit,disabilityisnotthecauseofproblem,itratherrelationshipbet- however, differentperspective. takesavery to betreated.TheGaiaVocational Portugal, RehabilitationCentre(CRPG)innorthern Disability hastraditionallybeenseenfromamedicalviewpointassomethingthatneeds business. forfindingajoborsettingupin al trainingprogrammesandsupport whichincludevocation- year almost2,000peopleaccesstheirservices, with disabilitiescannothaveanactivesocialandprofessionallife.Every ischallengingtheviewthatpeople Portugal An organisationinnorthern orking inpartnership W ritten in July2004–project reference: B11-PT3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market grammes, facilitatingtheirentranceintothelabourmarket More youngRomaareaccessingvocationaltrainingpro- www.fsgg.org/acceder W [email protected] E-mail +34 914220961 Fax +34 914220960 T 28025 Madrid 10, AntolinaMerino Address Emilio Conejo Contact Name General Gitano Fundación Secretariado organisation Name ofcoordinating Gypsy community Ta Objective 1,3 ESF FundingType € T € € ESF Funding Spain Country Social inclusion ESF PriorityArea 2000-2006 Project duration against thegypsycommunity ACCEDER: Fightdiscrimination Project name elephone otal Funding 45 million 8.4 million–Objective3 23.1 million–Objective1 ebsite r get Group the SpanishRomaCommunity National programme for European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 this possible.” population andonsocietyingeneral.TheESFOperational Programmehasmade spective ofthisprogrammeallowsagreaterandmorelasting impactonthistarget As Mr. Fresnosays,“thepositiveimpactofAcceder isclear. per- Thelong-term the programme,83percentofthemRomaand60 cent ofthemwomen. from key objective.Sofarsome3,600peoplehaveenrolledin trainingwithsupport fortheRomacommunityisanother Access totrainingandeducationopportunities of thisprogramme,45percentwhichareformorethanthreemonths. almost10,000workcontractshavebeenagreedasaresult 6 years.Furthermore reached almost17,000whiletheoriginaltargetforprojectwas15,000 ties in13differentAutonomousCommunities.Thetotalnumberofbeneficiarieshas in44municipali- expectations. Some47employmentofficeshavebeensupported Now justhalfwaythroughthesixyearprogramme,resultshaveexceededall Results speakforthemselves ket policies,”explainedJoséManuelFresno,directorofFSGG. get groupsandtheirrepresentativesindecidingimplementingactivelabourmar- munity. ingivinggreaterresponsibilitytotheactualtar- “Thisisabigstepforward crimination torunanationwideprogrammetargetedspecificallyattheRomacom- reflected intheawardofagrantfromESFOperationalProgrammeagainstdis- (Fundación SecretariadoGeneralGitano-FSGG).Recognitionoftheirrolewas ofthenationalGypsyfoundation duetotheefforts This shiftisinnosmallpart T of theRomacommunityaccesslabourmarketandeducationtraining. However, thelastfewyearshaveseenamajorshiftinperceptionsasmoreand nity ingeneralhassufferedformanyyearsfromsocialprejudiceandstereotyping. differentsocialandculturalidentities.Thecommu- and diverseoriginsoftenvery There areestimatedtobeover600,000RomainSpaintoday. Theyhavecomplex employment. ple havebenefitedfromtheprogramme,athirdofwhomfound Already,to trainingandemploymentopportunities. almost17,000peo- gramme ‘Acceder’,whichaimstofacilitatetheRomacommunity’s access inthepro- Autonomous CommunitiesinSpainarenowparticipating Thanks toasuccessfulpilotprogrammeinMadrid1998-1999,13 aking greaterresponsibility W ritten in January 2004-project reference:B2-ES3 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Giving anequalchancetopeoplewithdisabilities www.carm.es W [email protected] E-mail +34 968366219 Fax +34 968366867 T 30003 -Murcia A Address Constantino Sotoca Contact Name Región deMurcia Comunidad Autónoma organisation Name ofcoordinating People withdisabilities Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Spain Country Social inclusion ESF PriorityArea 2000-December2006 January Project duration with disabilities employmentforpeople Supported Project name elephone otal Funding venida delaFama,3 4,491,924 3,144,347 ebsite r get Group people withdisabilities for Job support European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 fit fromthisprogrammeoveritslifetimeandthatatleast 700 peoplewillfindwork. ted betweensixand12months.Itisexpectedthataround 4,000peoplewillbene- 150 arewomenandallundertheageof30.Inmost casesthejobshavelas- 3,200 peoplewithdisabilities.Some410ofthemhavefound employment,ofwhich providershaveworkedwith Since theprogrammewaslaunchedin2000,service Concrete results ly totheSREF. annual- mum ofthreeyearsinthecaseindefiniteemploymentcontracts, andreport criteria.Forexample,theymustcommittoamini- provided theycomplywithcertain Private companiesemployingpeoplewithdisabilitiesareentitledtofinancialsupport himorherduringtheinitialadaptationperiod. guide andsupport theworktasksrequiredofclient,to andperform personmaylearn the support role istopreparetheclientforemploymentandhelpthemfindajob.Onceinjob, case ofmentaldisabilities,andatleastsixinthephysicaldisabilities.Their mum numberofpeoplewithdisabilities–atleastfourperfull-timeemployeeinthe individual. Non-profit,specialisedorganisationsarecontractedtoworkwithamini- for each The programmeworksonthemodelofintensiveandpersonalisedsupport Autonomous CommunityofMurcia(CARM). forEmploymentandTraining (SREF)withinthe Sotoca, officerintheRegionalService employees havefewerproblemsinadaptingtotheworktasks,”explainsConstantino abilities accessingthejobmarket,butalsojobstendtobemoresecure,andnew “This approachnotonlyhasahighsuccessrateinthenumberofpeoplewithdis- employment’forpeoplewithdisabilities. This programmefocuseson‘supported employment:anindividualapproach Supported zens, includingaccesstoanactivesocialeconomicandlife. lities andtheirfamiliesshouldhavethesamerightsfreedomsasrestofitsciti- ofMurciaisthatpeoplewithdisabi- The guidingprincipleoftheregionalgovernment Leon, AndaluciaandGalicia. Autonomous Communitieswiththehighestprevalenceofdisability, alongsideCastilla- disability, representingninepercentofthepopulation.Murciaisamong There arearoundthreeandahalfmillionpeopleinSpainwithphysicalormental Programme ishelpingthisbecomeareality. bytheESFOperational Spain. Asix-yearprogrammesupported ofMurciain life isakeypoliticalpriorityoftheregionalgovernment Enabling peoplewithdisabilitiestohaveanactiveeconomicandsocial W ritten in March2004– projectreference B7-ES1

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market immigrants gainself-confidencethroughtraining Preparing fortheworkforce: © Hollandse Hoogte/ArendaOomen www.ams.se W [email protected] E-mail + 46(0)45771570 Fax + 46(0)45771561 T Ronneby, Sweden Ställverksvägen 5,37231 Address Leif Ottosson/HelenaTitz Contact Name Rehabilitation andEducation of The EmploymentOffice organisation Name ofcoordinating Immigrants/asylum seekers unemployed Long-term Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType ( SEK 3,310,000 T ( SEK 1,570,000 ESF Funding Sweden Country Social inclusion ESF PriorityArea 2001–December2002 January Project duration rehabilitation andtraining Employment service Project name € € elephone otal Funding 368,327) 174,705) ebsite r get Group into theSwedishworkforce Integrating immigrants European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 possible.” hasdecided togiveagreatdealofmoneymakethis Sweden. Thegovernment Blekinge project,“thatitisbeingduplicatedbyotheremployment officesallover “The projectwassosuccessful,”saysMr. LeifOttosson, projectcoordinatoratthe the restaurantbusinessoropenedashop. inthescheme,101foundworkandfourhaveset upin 130 immigrantstookpart structural design.Andclearlytheattempttoboostself-confidenceworked.Around The workplacementswerevaried,frommanualinfishprocessingtolearning Spreading goodpractice them throughthedifficultearlierstagesoffinding,andstayingin,anewjob. by acoachtotheirworkplacementandthennewplaceofsupport tofollow.nal employmentplanfortheparticipant Theindividualwasaccompanied dually togetagoodunderstandingoftheirneeds.Together, theydevisedaperso- T problem. mental orphysicaldifficulties,ittookahighlyintensive,hands-onapproachtothe Focusing onimmigrantswhohadpoorlanguageskillsinSwedishandsomecases, immigrant socialexclusionhasbeencarriedoutbythelocallabourexchange. In Blekingecounty, around400kilometressouthofStockholm,attemptstominimise Coaching eachstepoftheway term. damage theirself-confidenceandmakeitevenharderforthemtointegrateinthelong- language, stillfinditdifficulttowork.Thisreinforcestheirfeelingsofexclusion,can ty, thosewithlittleornoknowledgeofthe ofthem,particularly asignificantproportion inanothercountry.born Whilesome immigrantsarewellintegratedintoSwedishsocie- By themid-1990s,nearly950,000ofSweden's8.8millioninhabitantswerepeople me. akeycomponentofthesche- formed ween employersandparticipants to aprojectdevisedbytheBlekingelabourexchange.Interpretingbet- given individualcoachingthroughworkplacementsandnewjobsthanks Immigrants fromaroundEurope,AfricaandtheMiddleEasthavebeen wo people worked full-time with the immigrants and saw each participant indivi- wo peopleworkedfull-timewiththeimmigrantsandsaweachparticipant W ritten in January 2004–project reference:B4-SE1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market training T oby choosesthecateringbusinessforhisvocational [email protected] E-mail +44 2920621194 T CF14 4HY Cardiff Maes YCoedRd.,Heath Off Unit 12Fieldway, Address Shiers Barry Contact name Visi organisation Name ofcoordinating People withdisabilities Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype ( £685,719 T ( £215,000 ESF funding United Kingdom Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea 2001-2002 Project duration V Project name € € elephone otal funding ision 21(CyfleCymru) 1,021,721) 320,350) r on 21 get group with disabilities Career choicesforpeople European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 of 28,”saysMrShiers.“Itis anexcitingtimeinourdevelopment.” blished anetworkofsocialenterprises inWales, whichalreadyhas amembership exchanges.“We’vebeen involvedinanumberofinternational alsorecentlyesta- in Wales areinterestedinsettingupsimilar schemesandVision 21employeeshave V the recentfundinground. ESF contributiontoitsoverallbudgethasthereforedropped from45%to20%in toFrance,”hesays.The ce high-qualitybespokekitchens,whichareevenexported we areproducingsmallCelticharpsaimedatthetourism sector. We alsoprodu- sufficiency. workshop, “Allofourprojectsareincome generating.Inourcarpentry but, asMrShierspointedout,Vision 21placesastrongemphasis onself- offeredthroughtheESFhashelpedtogetprojectsstarted The financialsupport High-quality products forexport leaving theproject. July 2001andDecember2002,75gainedaqualification20enteredworkon The resultsareimpressive.Ofthe80studentswhocompletedtheirtrainingbetween people intoemploymentoncethey’vefinishedthetraining.” “We havealsoteamedupwithanemploymentagency, ‘Quest’,thathelpsdisabled “All ourtrainingprogrammesleadtosomekindofqualification,”saysMrShiers. gardening toofficeadministration. bilities. Studentscanchoosefromawiderangeofpracticaltrainingoptions V Some 13yearslaterVision 21has15ongoingprojectsthroughoutCardiffandthe Real-life worksetting there, wesetupasmallcharityin1991offeringdifferentvocationaltrainingoptions.” basis.From skillstoafewdisabledstudentsonpart-time teach basicwoodturning to occupy them,”saysMrShiers,nowdirectorofthecompanyVision 21.“Istarted people withdisabilitieswereputtogetherinlargegroupsandgivenpointlesstasksto “As asocialworkerinCardiffback1989,Iwasincreasinglyangeredbytheway intheirlives. tomoveforward abilities withrespectandtogivethemopportunities Shiers'desiretotreatpeoplewithdis- The ideabehindVision 21stemsfromBarry employment. with disabilitieshaveaccesstovocationaltrainingandsupported workshop,wherepeople andcarpentry den centre,retailoutlet,pottery W One individual’s visionhasbecomeapioneeringsocialenterprisein ale ofGlamorganand,inanyoneweek,involvesaround175studentswithdisa- ision 21hasattractedmuchinterestlocallyandabroad. Severallocalauthorities ales. Vision 21runsawiderangeofprojectsincludingcafé,gar- W ritten in July2004–project reference: B12-UK2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market their owninterestsandskills In Bytescentresyoungpeopleusecomputerstodevelop www.bytes.org W [email protected] E-mail +44 2890288810 T Belfast BT127AL Business Park,SpringfieldRoad, 1 MilleniumWay, Springvale Millenium House, Address Patricia Haren Contact name The BytesProject organisation Name ofcoordinating Disadvantaged youngpeople Ta Building SustainableProsperity IrelandProgrammeFor Northern ESF fundingtype ( £175,522 T ( £114,089 ESF funding UK Country Social inclusion ESF priorityarea October 2002–March2004 Project duration Bytes project Project name € € elephone otal funding 261,973) 170,282) ebsite r get group and creative Bytes centresmakeITlearningfun European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 Learning. forEmploymentand ofEducationandtheDepartment funding fromtheDepartment 44 intofull-timetraining.TheBytescentreshaverecently receivedcontinuation young peoplehaveobtainedaqualification,67moved intoemploymentand 40 gotothesmallerBallybeencentre.Sinceopeningin October2002,some24 weekaround100young peopleusethePoleglassBytescentre,whileabout Every helps tobuildmoretrustbetweenthewidercommunity and itsyoungpeople.” involving localrepresentatives.Theyhaveasayinthe centre’s activities,which sides ofthecommunity,” group saysMsHaren. “Alsoeachcentrehasanadvisory “We important. very havestaffdedicatedtodevelopingprojectsinvolvingboth cross-communityactivities,isalso incommunityprojects,particularly Participation W educationorintoemployment.” “Our aimistoencouragethembackintofurther personaldevelopment,”saysPatriciaHaren,ProjectDirectorfor Bytes. on tofurther “Using ICTinawaythatiscreativeandfuncanreallymotivateyoungpeopletogo producinggraphicsortypingadocument. around it,suchassearchingtheInternet, Theychoosethetopicandthendeveloptheir skills that isentirelyportfolio-based. Y Development Officer. assistedbythecentre’sand worksonanindividualpersonaldevelopmentportfolio whoregistersatacentreisgivenpersonalcomputerspace, cific project.Everybody sionally, whileothersareregularuserswhocommitthemselvestocompletingaspe- and thereisnoobligationtoattend.Somearecasualuserswhocomeinonlyocca- no referrals–theyoungstersusuallyhearaboutcentresthroughword-of-mouth The centresareopento16-25year-olds whoareregisteredunemployed.There Using ICTtodeveloppersonalinterests cycleandbringthetwosidesofcommunitytogether.step offthepoverty opened inOctober2002bothareas,offeringactivitiesthatmotivateyoungstersto nantly Protestant–andthecommunitydivideisstillstrong.Two newBytescentreswere ment andpoverty. isapredominantlynationalistarea,thelatterpredomi- Theformer Poleglass (West Belfast)andBallybeen(Eastbothsufferfromhighunemploy- European SocialFund. throughthe now 10suchBytescentres,twoofwhichreceivedsupport outdifferentcommunityprojects.Thereare ITskillswhilecarrying learn Irelandarebenefitingfromdrop-incentreswheretheycan of Northern Unemployed youngpeoplefromsomeofthemostsociallydeprivedareas oung people have the opportunity toworktowardsarecognisedqualificationin ICT oung peoplehavetheopportunity orking withthecommunity W ritten in August2004 - projectreference: B19-UK4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market

Lifelong Learning

Promoting and improving training, education and counselling as part of a lifelong learning policy

The IIPteamattheFederationofAustrianIndustry www.investorsinpeople.at W [email protected] E-mail +43 171135-2316 Fax +43 171135-2404 T 1031 Vienna Schwarzenbergplatz 4, Address Holger Heller Contact name Austrian FederationofIndustry organisation Name ofcoordinating Employees incompanies Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Austria Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea October 2003-March2006 Project duration Investors inPeople Project name elephone otal funding 289,435 155,399 ebsite r get group Resource Development International standardsforHuman European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 achieve goodresults. positiveandthestepsmadesofar showthemtobehighlymotivated been very According totheprojectcoordinator, companies has feedbackfromparticipating phase." pilot topermanent be toworkoutadetailedbusinessplaninorderprepare asmoothtransitionfrom asIIPassessors.Ournextmilestonewill consultants, specificallytrainedandcertified says Heller. "Theevaluationtowardstheendof thepilotwillbedonebyexternal estimate thatsomeofthepilotcompanieswillachieve standard alreadyin2005," to implementit.Wethe processoffinalisingactionplanorhavealready started "Most ofthepilotcompanieshavealreadypasseddiagnoses phaseandarein Different developmentstages ning onrequest. companiesandtooffertrai- exchangeofexperienceamongtheparticipating support aspecificIIPcirclehasbeensetupto of thestandardishighlyvalued.Furthermore The professionalapproachandtheinvolvementofemployeesinimplementation tancy enterprisePendl&Piswangerprovidesprofessionalassistanceandsupport. togetherwiththeconsul- of about9to18months.TheAustrianFederationIndustry phases, whichhavetobeimplementedbythecompaniesthemselvesduringaperiod indicatorsanddevelopment IIP isbasedonamanagementplan,involvingcertain coordinator fromtheAustrianFederationofIndustry. ther promotionandwideruseafterthepilotphase,"explainsHolgerHeller, project broaden ourexperienceofthestandardindifferentenvironmentsasabasisforitsfur- branches andwithdifferentlevelsofHumanResourceDevelopment.Thishelpsusto "Our targethasbeentoinvolveawiderangeofcompaniesdifferentsizes, orbiotechnology.industry topublicservice, dard in12companiesAustriarangingfromprivateservices, hasbeenintroducingthe'InvestorsinPeople'stan- The AustrianFederationofIndustry Introduction inAustria ment inpeopleiseffective. toshowthatinvest- efforts itsupports develophumanresources.Furthermore, further betterexploitacompany'shumancapitaland which aimstoimproveperformance, framework company success.Thequalitystandard'InvestorsinPeople'isacertified notonlyenhancesqualityoflifebutisalsobecomingakeyfactorin Lifelong learning efforts. companiesintheirHumanResourceDevelopment(HRD) supporting Industry. Thestandardisoneofthemostdevelopedandusefultoolsin (IIP) inAustriancompaniesistheaimofFederation recognisedstandard‘InvestorsinPeople’ Introducing theinternationally- W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: C10-AT4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Deceuninck nowhasaroomdedicatedtotraining www.deceuninck.com W [email protected] E-mail +32 51239392 Fax +32 51239568 T Hooglede-Gits 8830 Bruggesteenweg 164, Address Marc Michels Contact name Deceuninck NV organisation Name ofcoordinating Employed atrisk Employees Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Belgium Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea 2001-December2002 January Project duration Excellent Learning Project name elephone otal funding 1,254,052 282,162 ebsite r get group resource management ofhuman Learning attheheart European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 as oureconomiccontribution totheregion.” tions ofmanagementstaff.Now oursocialresponsibilityisseenasequallyimportant hashelpedchangethepercep- activities. AccordingtoMrMichels: “Publicsupport fortheirtraining apply forannualsubsidiesfrom theESFandregionalgovernment The CareerGuidanceprogrammelastsuntil2006,during whichtimeDeceuninckwill it willbeorganisedoutsideworkhours.” languagetraining.Over80peoplerespondedpositively,est inGerman eventhough toassess theinter- says MrMichels.“Forexample,werecentlylaunchedan enquiry “We’re opportunities,” definitelyseeingmoreemployees takinganinterestinlearning Recognising thevalueoflearning skills, productionprocesses,communicationandmanagement, andinductiontraining. management. Training technology, isofferedinfivekeyareas:information technical these, around75%areshop-floorworkers,18%administrativeorsalesstaff,and7% Approximately 550staffwereinvolvedinthefirstphase,and450second.Of organised 2,510trainingdaysbetween2001and2002,2,188in2003. W classroom-based andtheoretical,tobeingfocusedonpracticelearning-by-doing. met andfollowedup.Thetypeoftrainingonofferhasalsochangedfrombeingmore staff. Managershaveresponsibilitytoanticipatetrainingneedsandensuretheyare shopfloorworkersandadministrative now shiftedtoinvolvingallstaff,particularly ment. Whereastrainingtraditionallyfocusedonmanagementstaff,theemphasishas employee takesresponsibilityforhisorherownprofessionalandpersonaldevelop- so thatevery employee. Thecompanyaimstoinstilacultureoflifelonglearning, T Changes inpolicyandpractice tical implicationsonemployeetasksandresponsibilities,ourworkorganisation.” Deceuninck’s HumanResourcesDirector. prac- “Itrepresentsapolicyshiftthathasvery levelinourcompany,”“The impactisbeingfeltatevery saysMarcMichels, turing plantinHooglede-Gits,Belgium. It isaffectingallthe650employees,basedatfirm’s andmanufac- headquarters mises acompleteoverhaulofthecompany’s humanresourcesmanagementstrategy. ambitious stepin2001oflaunchinga“CareerGuidance”programme,whichpro- A worldleaderinPVCproductsfortheconstructionindustry, DeceuninckNV, tookthe Flanders ismakingavitalcontribution. of fromtheESFandregionalgovernment gramme, wheresupport Deceuninck’s employees.Training ofthepro- lieattheheart andlearning Career Guidance”isgraduallyrevolutionisingattitudesamongall The six-yearhumanresourcesmanagementprogramme“Deceuninck raining and learning are now considered systematically for every projectandevery arenow consideredsystematicallyforevery raining andlearning ith financial support from the ESF and Flemish regional government, Deceuninck fromtheESFandFlemishregionalgovernment, ith financialsupport W ritten in June2004-project reference: C8-BE3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Students learning throughnewtechnologies Students learning Paul Box/reportdigital.co.uk www.labset.net/equal W [email protected] [email protected] E-mail +32 43663401 Fax +32 43662093 T B-4000 Liège Bvd deColonster, 2,B9 Université deLiège-LabSET Address Ms Marie-FranceBrundseaux Contact name University ofLiège organisation Name ofcoordinating Employees, learners Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Belgium Country Lifelong learning ESF priorityarea June 2002-September2004 Project duration Distance learning Project name elephone otal funding 1,675,967 828,959 ebsite r get group of newtechnologies Harnessing thelearningpotential European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ferent organisationsworkinginthisfield.” inBelgium,bringingtogetherthevariousresourcesofdif- tal fordistancelearning “In thefuturewehopetoexpandouractivitiesandarenow developingasinglepor- on ourwebsite.” ofamanual Thestudyisnowavailableintheform se toevaluatingitsperformance. which providesadvicebasedonrealexperience,ranging fromsettingupanewcour- ners,” addsMsBrundseaux.“We methods carriedoutastudyofdistancelearning developedbythepart- “A keyaimoftheprojectwastocollectandshareexpertise Learning from experience cess andhasalreadystimulatedconsiderableinterestfromthebusinesssector. established. Thecoursetriestoinvolveemployersasfarpossibleinthetrainingpro- website hasbeen national commerceduring2003,forwhichaseparatee-learning commerce.Atotalof51studentsfollowedthecourseininter- trainers andinternational courseshavebeensetupinthefieldsofcarelectronics,trainingfor Distance learning techniques.” up aweb-basedmanualondistancelearning Marie-France Brundseaux.“We havedevelopedthreeonlinetrainingcoursesandset “Our projecthasproducedanumberofconcreteresults,”explainscoordinator aims todefineeducationalmethodsthattakefulladvantageofnewtechnologies. and The projectistargetedespeciallyatthoselackingaccesstotraditionallearning, IFAPME) ineducationandtraining. todeveloptechniquesforusingdistancelearning withtraininginstitutions(FOREM and The UniversityofLiègejoinedinapartnership Broadening accesstolearning students. oftrainersand culture,bothonthepart theless involvesasignificantshiftinlearning never- toamuchwidergroupofpeople.E-learning opportunities for extendinglearning andcommunicationtechnologiesofferconsiderablescope traints. Butnewinformation tion whoseaccesstotrainingandeducationislimitedbygeographicaltimecons- T use ofdistancelearning. throughthe aims towidenaccesseducationandtrainingopportunities inBelgium.Theproject educational methodstopromotelifelonglearning ledbytheUniversityofLiègeistestinganddevelopingnew A partnership raditional methods of learning havetendedtoexcludealargesectionofthepopula- raditional methodsoflearning W ritten in November2004 -projectreference: C13-BE5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Padborg DK(photographer:SteenLarsen) On-site atAndreasAndresenA/S, www.aofsyd.dk W [email protected] E-mail +45 74622438 Fax +45 74622423 T 6200 Aabenraa 3 Nørretorv Address Helle Hockerup Contact Name AOF SYDAabenraa organisation Name ofcoordinating Employees Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType ( 2,906,177 DKK T ( 1,122,277 DKK ESF Funding Denmark Country Lifelong Learning ESF PriorityArea October 2001–August2003 Project duration Global ICTCompetencies Project name € € elephone otal Funding 390,151) 150,664) ebsite r get Group for transport companies for transport T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 some of their 142 member companies that operate across the transport sector.”some oftheir142membercompanies thatoperateacrossthetransport sed realinterestinusingour resultstobuildappropriateICTtrainingconceptsfor Transportthe project,Ms.Hockerupsaid:“PadborgInternational Centrehasexpres- And thebenefitsarenotjustconfinedtoAndresenA/S. Following apresentationof Spreading theword highly qualifiedstaff,attractedbytheICTtoolsandtraining provision. ofon-goingtrainingandbroughtin increased staffappreciationoftheimportance Beyond theimmediateresultofraisingstaffcompetencies inICT, theprojecthas mon ICTknowledge. In future,newemployeeswillgothroughthesametraining, givingallstaffacom- course. inthetrainingthroughane-learning Luxembourg officealsoparticipated modules inbookkeeping,customsandtax,archiving.Sevenemployeesthe in booking,purchasing,resourcemanagementandfinance,specialised moduleswereoffered ving an‘Andresenlicense’onitscompletion.Compulsory Out ofthecompany’s inthetraining,eachrecei- 500employees,150tookpart A/S. a branchoftheDanishWorkers’ ofAndresen EducationalAssociationandpartner HelleHockerup,theprojectdeveloperinAOFSYD- providers,”reports no external gramme. AstheirICTneedsaresodifferentfromothercommercialsectors,there todevelopsuchatrainingpro- never havehadthetimeorresourcesnecessary “Without the assistanceprovidedthroughthisESFproject,AndresenA/Swould satisfaction, flexibilityandunderstandingofthefullrangecompanytasks. of perishablegoods,andtoincreasestaffcompetenciesinICTs leadingtogreaterjob onthisinvestment: tomaintainandincreaseitsmarketshareinthetransport ted return set oftrainingmodulestailoredtotheneedsitsstaffandoverallmission.Itsexpec- industry. ButAndreasAndresenA/Sdecidedtobreakwithtraditionbyinvestingina Large-scale stafftrainingprojectsarestillrelativelyuncommonintheroadtransport sector A firstintheroad transport must beaccompaniedbyinvestmentinupgradingstaffICTskills. ment andcontractdelivery. However, tobeeffective,investmentinnewtechnologies industry,the roadtransport forexample,ICTs candramaticallyimprovefleetmanage- andcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs).many time-consumingtaskswithinformation In To pany’s globalcompetitivenessanditsstaff'sjobsatisfaction. industry. Some150employeeshavebeentrained,improvingthecom- Jutland, Denmarkhasattractedmuchinterestwithintheroadtransport The ICTtrainingprogrammelaunchedbyAndreasAndresenA/Sin ailored ICTtraining

maintain competitivenessintoday’s globalised market,companiesarereplacing W ritten in January 2004project reference: C1-DK1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market T rainees in the flexible learning programme rainees intheflexiblelearning www.netvaerket-nexoe.dk W [email protected] E-mail +45 56488989 T Paradisvej 1A,3700Nexø Address Birgit Aaberg Contact name Regional MunicipalityofBornholm organisation Name ofcoordinating Unemployed Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Denmark Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea March 2002-June2004 Project duration courses Network forflexibleteachingand Project name elephone otal funding 1,644,086 648,476 ebsite r get group remote areas Filling thetraininggapsin European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 find work.” social contactstheydidn’t have before.Itenablespeopletobereadyandopen to gainself-confidenceand “What I’vewitnessedisthatthrough thetraining,participants “But gettingpeoplebackinto thejobmarketisonlyhalfstory,” saysMs.Aaberg. pleting thetraining. ofbeneficiariesgoontofindworkaftercom- from 2003suggestthataround35% afteraperiodofwork.Results although anumberofthesewereindividualsreturning By theendofApril2004,some380peoplehadregistered forthetrainingcourses, Getting ready towork towards therecognisedEuropeanComputerDrivingLicence. areoftenattractedbythepossibilityofworking software packages.Participants with nocomputerexperienceatall,whileothersarelooking fortraininginspecific given individualattentionaccordingtohisorherspecificneeds.Manypeoplecome is By farthemostpopularcourseshavebeenthoseincomputertraining.Everybody industry.” some areonsickleaveorhaveseasonalworkeitherinthetouristsectorfishing while othersmayhaveauniversitydegree.Mostofthemareunemployed,although says Ms.Aaberg.“We havepeoplecomingtouswithalmostnoeducationatall, “The beneficiariesarereferredtousbytheunemploymentofficeorsocialservices,” oftheisland. part in thesoutheastern centre inRønneandseveraltradeunionstoofferlocaltrainingunemployedpeople thereforeteamedupwiththeadulteducation The regionalmunicipalityofBornholm Bringing trainingclosertohome sing chancesofgettingajob. rage of8%,traininginprofessionalandpersonalskillsisanessentialtoolforincrea- But inanareawhereunemploymentiscurrently14%comparedtothenationalave- onaregularbasis.” the journey andfewpeoplearewillingto make “Rønne isaboutanhourawaybypublictransport says BirgitAaberg,projectcoordinatorintheregionalmunicipalityofBornholm. fivekilometresmayaswellbe350inthemindsofpeoplehere,” “Thirty on theeastcoast,distanceisamajordisincentivetoenrolintraining. tal, Rønne,onthewestcoast.Althoughonly35kmaway, fortheinhabitantsofNexø, areconcentratedinitsadministrativecapi- inBornholm Adult educationopportunities chances offindingworkaswelltheiroverallwellbeing. Some350peoplehavebenefitedsofar,of Bornholm. improvingtheir unemployed peoplearoundNexø,ontheeastcoastofDanishisland for A networkoforganisationsisofferingindividualtrainingopportunities W ritten in April2004–project reference: C5-DK4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market T raining intheTVstudio www.arto.fi W [email protected] E-mail +358 9271907604 Fax +358-9271901 T Finland 04401 Järvenpää Box 94 Address Markku Uitto Contact Name (aRTO) Adult RadioandTelevision Institute organisation Name ofcoordinating Employed Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Finland Country Lifelong Learning ESF PriorityArea August 2001-December2004 Project duration AV Project name elephone otal Funding 394,020 347,391 ebsite r -alanTu Va-koulutus get Group in theaudiovisualsector Upgrading skillsandqualifications European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 that will be part of the online learning environment. ofthe onlinelearning that willbepart students attaintherelevantqualifications.Itisalsodeveloping anassessmentsystem The projectisnowinitsfinalyear(2004)andfocused mainlyonensuringthatthe A comprehensiveonlinelearningenvironment and italsorequiresthatstudentstakeonmoreresponsibilityfortheirownlearning.” environment,”explains Mr.learning Uitto.“IthasrequiredsomeupgradingofITskills, “One ofthebiggestchallengesfacedbyourstudentshasbeenshifttoonline exams. Tutoring platform. isofferedviaanonlinelearning tositvarious ce, studyfacilities,lectures,programmesaswelltheopportunity munication andaretutoredbytheprojectcoordinator. Studentshaveaccesstoadvi- The remainingstudentsareaimingforaspecialistqualificationinaudiovisualcom- a personaltutorfromthePalmeniaCentreforResearchandContinuingEducation. ree incooperationwithoneorotheroftheHelsinkiUniversities.Thesestudentshave There arecurrently104students,ofwhich24studyingforahigheracademicdeg- employment market.” qualificationstoremainactiveinthe individuals havetheconfidenceandnecessary ses andqualificationstotheprofessionalneedsofsector, butalsotoensurethat panies, suchastheFinnishBroadcastingCompany, MTV3.We totailorthecour- try Institute (ARTO), “thisprojectistheresultofyearscooperation withaudiovisualcom- According totheprojectcoordinator, MarkkuUittooftheAdultaRadioandTelevision Enhancing employability cation degrees. theirskillsthroughvocationalqualificationsorhigheredu- te theirstudiesorformalise tocomple- ject offerstheseemployees,generallyovertheageof40,opportunity qualificationsorwithoutfinishingtheirdegree.Thispro- the sectorwithoutanyformal inthe1990s,manypeopleentered Prior totheexpansionofaudiovisualindustry dying foravocationalqualificationoracademicdegree. and skillsinaudiovisualcommunications.Over100studentsarenowstu- tohelpemployeesupdatetheirknowledge ther educationopportunities companies inFinland,ARTO offersarangeofspecialisttrainingandfur- W orking withthemainfilm,TVandradioproductionbroadcasting W ritten in January 2003-project reference:C2-FI1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market www.hellersdorf.de www.appolonius.de W [email protected] E-mail +49 3099401823 Fax +49 3099401824 T D-12627 Berlin To Address Thomas Schmidt Contact name Helliwood Medienzentrum organisation Name ofcoordinating Adults Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Germany Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea June 2002–May2006 Project duration Region Learning Appolonius! –Marzahn-Hellersdorf Project name elephone otal funding 2,046,559 877,856 rgauer Strasse27 ebsite r get group network Berlin developslifelonglearning European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 . regionsofGermany.”also transferringourexperiencestootherlearning indealingwithdynamically changingmarkets.We workersand firms supporting are at manylevelsandrequiresimmensecoordination,”says MrSchmidt.“Butitisnow forworkersofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises.“Thisprojectisoperating learning moduleoffersempirical enterprise too.Its“Businessdevelopmentthroughlearning” individualsbutlocal The Appolonius!coursesarenotonlybenefitingparticipating classroom.” addition tostandardsoftware,offersresidentsthepossibility ofavirtual forsoftwareuseatvariouslocationsinthedistrictwhich, in GmbH setupaplatform within thecommunity,” BDLComputerandSystemhaus saysMrSchmidt.“Partners “Technology process hasplayedakeyroleinboostingandintegratingthelearning technologyforeducationalpurposes Harnessing tion. “Knowingthis,wedevelopedthewebsite connec- which establishedthatover65%ofhouseholdsintheregionhaveanInternet tual classrooms”.Atthebeginningofproject,aneedsanalysiswascarriedout components,fromneedsanalysestoestablishing“vir- focuses onindividuallearning Managed byacentralbureau,theprojectcomprisesfivesub-networks.Eachofthese Spreading theword coursestoimprovetheirskills. to learning providing local,employedandunemployedworkersyoungpeoplewithaccess of socialassistance.Appolonius!isendeavouringtocontributeitsregenerationby haslongbeeninneed capital,Marzahn-Hellersdorf, A deprivedareaoftheGerman community. andtailor-made platforms ses, includinglearning e-coursesforthe the projectisoverseeingdevelopmentofseveralinnovativeproces- intheregion.Involvingcitizens,localinstitutionsandbusinesses, learning ners arebuildingacomplex,sustainablenetworktopromotelifelong agroupofprojectpart- In theEastBerlindistrictofMarzahn-Hellersdorf, launched byAppolonius!in2004forworkerspublicadministration. Office,anewmoduleisbeing Administrative AcademyandtheCitizens’Services ned tomeettheneedsofrespectiveusergroups.IncooperationwithBerlin coursesarebeingconstantlyrefi- The curriculadevisedbytheprojectforitse-learning courses.” on ourlearning site allowsustoapproachalargenumberofcitizensdirectlywithnewsandevents tothecommunity,”successful services saysprojectcoordinatorThomasSchmidt.“This W ritten in May2004–project reference: C6-DE3 www.hellersdorf.de , oneofourmost

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market www.nqai.ie W [email protected] E-mail +353 18871595 Fax +353 18871500 T Street,Dublin1 Jervis 5th Floor, House, Jervis Address Seán ÓFoghlú Contact name of Ireland National QualificationsAuthority organisation Name ofcoordinating teachersandemployers Learners, Ta Framework Community Support ESF fundingtype € T € ESF fundingtoend2003 Ireland Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea 2001-2006 February Project duration Qualifications National Frameworkof Project name elephone otal fundingtoend2003 4,940,000 3,176,000 ebsite r get group qualifications inIreland T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 . access, transferandprogression,”saysMrÓFoghlú. national frameworkofqualificationsandfromtheimplementation ofproceduresfor arethegroupwhowillbenefitmostfromdevelopmentof a of Ireland.Learners wasthekeydriverforestablishmentofNQA “Meeting theneedsoflearners tres, collegesanduniversities. experience thattakesplacewithinschool,theworkplace, the community, trainingcen- and communityworkers.Ten and levels havebeensetthatcanassessthelearning parents,teachers,employers and training,whichiseasilyunderstandablebylearners, The Frameworkestablishesasingle,coherentawardsystemforalllevelsofeducation T ing outcomes. framework anddevelopingnewaward-types,forexampletocaterspecificlearn- next twoyears,theemphasisliesoninclusionofexistingawardsintonew has beenpublished,theNQAmovedintoimplementationphase.Over National Frameworkandtheculturalchangeitembodies.Nowthat consultation withstakeholders,encouragingtheirinputsandgreaterownershipofthe For thefirsttwoandahalfyearsafteritslaunch,NQAcarriedoutanexhaustive says SeánÓFoghlú,ChiefExecutiveoftheNQA. ing activitythroughoutlifewithinapersonal,civic,socialoremploymentcontext,” as alifelongprocess.Itinvolvestherecognitionofalllearn- understanding oflearning based onan “The Frameworkembodiesavisionfortherecognitionoflearning, asalifelongprocess Learning October 2003,reflectsthecountry’s society”. drivetowardsa“lifelonglearning 2001 andtherecentpublicationofNationalFrameworkQualificationsin In Ireland,thelaunchofNationalQualificationsAuthority(NQA)inFebruary acrossEurope. by governments knowledge gained,thatarebothtransparentandcomparable,isachallengefaced all agesandinmanydifferentcontexts.Findingmeansofqualifyingtheskills takesplaceat societyandlabourmarket.Learning suited totheneedsofamodern educationisnolonger andtertiary The traditionallinearmodelofprimary, secondary financing fromtheESF, isspearheadingitsdesignandimplementation. National QualificationsAuthority, 2001withco- launchedinFebruary through theintroductionofaNationalFrameworkQualifications.The Education andtraininginIrelandisundergoingaradicaloverhaul en assessmentlevels ransparent andcomparable W ritten in May2004–project reference: C7-IE1

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market participating groups participating St. Oliver’s Oneofthe Playgroup,Co.Tipperary: www.katharinehowardfoundation.ie W [email protected] E-mail +353 (0)14531862 Fax +353 (0)14531861 T 10 GrattanCrescent,Dublin8 Irish SocialFinanceCentre Address Noelle Spring Contact name Katharine HowardFoundation organisation Name ofcoordinating Community Playgroups Ta Objective 1 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Ireland Country W ESF priorityarea 2001-2004 Project duration Community PlaygroupInitiative Project name elephone otal funding 88,882 44,441 omen’s participation ebsite r get group Quality childcareinthecommunity European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 lable. willbepublishedinearly2005andmadewidelyavai- final evaluationreport oftheevaluation.A isalsopart to othersmallcommunity-basedchildcareservices playgroups. Examiningthepotentialofapplyingasimilarmodel by theparticipating provided onthequalityofservice impact ofincreased,targetedfundingandsupport An extensive,ongoingevaluationoftheprojectisbeing carriedouttomeasurethe A modelforcommunityplaygroups Each groupreceivesfinancialassistanceof what worksanddoesn’t work.” Foundation. “We alsoemphasisetraining,planning,monitoringandreflectionon the physicalenvironment,”explainsNoelleSpringofKatharineHoward adults; strengthenparentalinvolvement;developlinksandnetworks;enhance “The keyaimsaretocontributecommunitylifethroughinteractionofchildrenand improve thequalityoftheirservices. groups. Aprojectcoordinatorworkswitheachgroupindividuallytohelpthem andextrafundingtofiveselectedchildcare Initiative, aimedatprovidingsupport Health Boardtotacklethisproblem.TheyjointlysetupaCommunityPlaygroup king inthefieldofcommunityprojects,workedtogetherwithSouthEastern The KatharineHowardFoundation,anindependentgrant-makingorganisationwor- Ta andafocusondevelopingdaycarefacilities. port of means.However, thesegroupshaverecentlysufferedfromalackofstrategicsup- often basedindisadvantagedareasandareopentoallyoungchildren,regardless throughplayforpre-schoolchildren.Thegroupsare profit basis,providinglearning They arebasedinlocalcommunitiesandrunbyparentsvolunteersonanon- oftheIrishchildcareinfrastructure. part important Community playgroupsareavery worked outanindividualplantodevelopandimprovetheirservices. networks.Undertheproject,eachgrouphas staff trainingandsupport the beneficiariesofaprogrammetoenhancechildcareprovisionthrough Five community-basedplaygroupsinthesoutheastofIrelandhavebeen mises andcometogetherfornetworkingtraininginacentrallocation. training andactionsforparents.Fromtimetothegroupsvisiteachother’s pre- chase oftoysandequipment,employingnewstaff,increasingopeninghours,staff wide rangeofimprovements,includingupdatingandupgradingpremises,thepur- r geted fundingtoimprove quality W ritten in October2004 -projectreference: E12-IE5 € 45,000 overthreeyears,spentona

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market dance inrecognitionof theiratten- Students receiveacertificate www.forma.azione.com www.comune.perugia.it W [email protected] E-mail +39 0755996085 Fax +39 0755997340 T 06087 –P.te S.Giovanni–Perugia V Address Anna Schippa Contact name Associazione FORMA.Azione organisation Name ofcoordinating Comune diPerugia organisation Name ofpromoting Adults Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Italy Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea December 2001-June2002 Project duration GEMMA I Project name elephone otal funding ia L.Catanelli19 361,520 162,684 ebsite r get group computer literacy Empowerment byimproving European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 the coursesonoffer.” havebeenpositivelysurprisedbythequalityof the publicadministration.Participants system,” saysMs.Schippa.“We’ve alsoseenamassiveimprovementintheimageof education “The coursesarehelpingtomeetarealneedfortrainingoutside theformal inMay2004,hasalreadygenerated3,000requests. GEMMA III,whichstarted fromsome9,000 peopleand ched. GEMMAIIattractedrequeststoparticipate Owing tothesuccessofGEMMAI,secondandthirdphases havealsobeenlaun- Filling agapintrainingprovision areovertheageof50. participants also tomeetnewpeopleandgiveastructuretheirday.” Approximately40%of newskills,but comenotonlytolearn FORMA.Azione. “Olderpeopleinparticular groups,” saysAnnaSchippa,projectcoordinatorwithintheassociation “We runcoursesatvarioustimesofthedaytomeetneedsdifferenttarget ning wasopentoalladultsovertheageof25. preneurship, healthandsafetyinthehome,socialcommunicationskills.Thetrai- courses inaforeignlanguage–English,FrenchorSpanishandentre- InadditiontoIT,vince, attractingsome1,139participants. peoplecouldchoosefrom funded projectGEMMAI.Some58differentcourseswereofferedthroughoutthepro- The firstroundoftrainingcourseswaslaunchedin2001withintheframeworkESF Accessible coursesforall skills. people cantakecoursesorsimplydropintousethecomputersandpracticetheirnew andsouthofPerugiacitywhere In paralleltheyhavesetuptwoITcentresinthenorth nologies byofferingfreecoursesincooperationwithlocalvocationaltrainingcentres. tousenewtech- The municipalityofPerugiahastakenstepstohelpitscitizenslearn who donothaveaccesstonewtechnologiesortheskillsusethem. totheircitizens.Butthistrendrisksmarginalisingthosecitizens mation andservices Public administrationsareincreasinglymovingtowardstheuseofITtoprovideinfor- attended courses. and2,000peoplehave received over10,000requeststoparticipate other specialisedfields.Nowinitsthirdphase,theorganisershave nal trainingcentrestooffercoursesinITandlanguages In centralItaly, themunicipalityofPerugiahasteamedupwithvocatio- W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: C11-IT4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Shop floorworkeratNedCar www.nedcar.nl W [email protected] E-mail +31 (0)4648954444 Fax +31 (0)464894444 T Sittard P Address Peter vanderHeijden Contact name NedCar organisation Name ofcoordinating Employees Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype Approx. T Approx. € ESF funding The Netherlands Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea 2002–December January 2001–December January Project duration NedCar -RoadtotheFuture Project name .O. box150,6130AD elephone otal funding 526,035 (2001) ebsite r get group € € 2M (2001-2002) 600,000 (2002) lifelong learning A companycultureof European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ding in2004toexpandtheirexistingtrainingprogramme. brought innewequipment.Thecompanyhopestoreceive anewroundofESFfun- andexternally.both internally In2003NedCarlaunchednewproductionlinesand to encourageemployeestakeresponsibilityforimproving theirownjobprospects, ofthecompany’sStaff trainingisanessentialpart strategytoremain competitive,and employmentcontracts.” even thosewithshort-term tion intraining,”saysMr. Van derHeijden.“Nowwecaninvolvemoreemployees, “As aresultoftheESFgrant,wehavebeenabletolowerthresholdforparticipa- Employee andemployerbenefits ty, preventativemaintenance,forklifttruckoperationanduseofthelatestsoftware. For skilledmanualworkers,tailoredcourseswereofferedinsubjectsrelatedtosafe- immediate andvisibleimpactontheirdepartment. month.”Training teamleadersthiswayhashadan ved twodaysoftrainingevery says Mr. Van intopracticeasitinvol- derHeijden.“Theycouldimmediatelyputtheory adhere toprioritylists,howmotivatepeople,andwhatskillsshouldbeassessed,” sionally withday-to-daysituations.“Thecourseshowedthemhowtocompileand For example,teamleaderswereofferedatrainingcoursetohelpthemdealprofes- trainingfor2,300shopfloorworkersandoffice staff. The 2001ESFgrantsupported Improving professional skills essential taskoftheemployer,” hesays. isforever’.Wetude amongouremployeesthat‘learning considertrainingtobean lise thebenefitsofadditionaltrainingonlylaterinlife.“We theatti- wanttosupport ger atNedCar, manyemployeesaretrainedtojuniortechnicalschoollevelandrea- According toPetervanderHeijden,organisationandpersonneldevelopmentmana- ple, itisalsooneofthelargestemployersinLimburg. turer ofpassengercarsintheNetherlands.With aworkforceofmorethan4,000peo- intheLimburgprovince–isonlylarge-scalemanufac- NedCar –situatedinBorn asset toemployersaswellthemselves”. staff developmentisprovingtheclaimthat“flexibleemployeesarean subsidised throughtheEuropeanSocialFund.NedCar’s investmentin Shop floorworkersandofficestaffhavebenefitedfromtrainingcourses W ritten in April2004–project reference: C4-NL3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market teams meetduringamonitoringactivity andmembersoftheRVCC nationalandlocal Participants www.dgfv.min-edu.pt W [email protected] E-mail +351 213837699 Fax +351 213837604 T 1250-271 Lisbon Rua Vale doPereiro,16-1º Address Coutinho Arminda Contact name V Direcção-Geral deFormação organisation Name ofcoordinating Under-qualified people Ta PRODEP III ESF fundingtype (2000-2003) € T (2000-2003) € ESF funding Portugal Country Lifelong Learning ESF priorityarea 2000-2006 Project duration Competences (RVCC) V National SystemforRecognising, Project name elephone otal funding ocacional alidating andCertifying 18,978,513 14,233,885 ebsite r get group (provisional data) (provisional data) pants to improve their job situation and/or to return to formal education. toformal pants toimprovetheirjobsituationand/orreturn ing lessthan lowsalaries–sometimesearn- entering thesystemareemployed,albeitoftenonvery 2003 ontheimpactofrecognitionandvalidationprocess,some79%those carriedoutinlate employed orunemployed–inparticular. Accordingtoasurvey over18,buttargetlowqualifiedworkingadults– The centresareopentoeverybody adults haveenrolledsincethesystemwaslaunchedin2000. T a networkofcentresknownasRVCC Centres. competences,implementedthrough system forrecognising,validatingandcertifying qualified adultsfulfiltheirpotential National schemehelpsunder- European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 1 contractssixmonthsafterreceivingtheir certificates. ing permanent contractsachiev- employment conditions,with 15% ofthoseemployeesonfixed-term education. Therewasalsoanotableimprovementtoparticipants’ toformal returned study,esteem. Sometwo-thirdsofrespondents wereconsideringfurther and13% had 2002 saidtheRVCC system hadhelpedthemtoimprovetheirself-knowledgeandself- adultsin2001- mentionedabove,mostofthe1,290certified According tothesurvey Personal andprofessional benefits being setupatarateof14peryear:by2005,therewill be84alloverthecountry. skills assessment,canapplytobecomeanaccreditedRVCC Centre.Newcentresare Any publicorprivatebody, withatrack recordinadulteducationandtraining education. of lowersecondary equivalenttoone ofthethreelevels gnition isgiventhroughtheawardofacertificate andtheskillsareregistered onapersonalkeycompetencescard.Officialreco- jury tences intheseareas,withcounsellingifneeded.Thisisthenassessedbyavalidation and employability. documentingtheircompe- Anindividualfirstpreparesaportfolio andcommunicationtechnologies,citizenship life,information tics foreveryday The systemidentifiesfourkeycompetences:languageandcommunication,mathema- so-calledkeycompetences. by registeringandcertifying acquired insideandoutsidetheprofessionalsphereand,secondly, tovalidatethem The objectiveofthesystemistwo-fold:firstly, torecognisetheknowledgeandskills Giving visibilitytohiddenskills cation edu- lowersecondary 64% oftheactivepopulation-hadnotcompletedcompulsory -around According todatafrom2000,overthreemillionadultsinmainlandPortugal ry Almost13,000adultswhohadnotcompletedlowerseconda- Portugal. representsalandmarkinadulteducationandtrainingpolicy learning previousnon-formal A newsystemtorecognise,validateandcertify oday, andover60,000 thereare70RVCC CentresoperatingthroughoutPortugal, Source: INE-National InstituteforStatistics, 2001

education now have a recognised certificate. Ithasmotivatedpartici- education nowhavearecognisedcertificate. 1 . It was this situation that led the Portuguese Government tolaunchanational Government . ItwasthissituationthatledthePortuguese € 350 permonth. W ritten in August2004 - projectreference: C9-PT4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market A trainingorganisedbyFUNDANEL www.anel.es W [email protected] E-mail +34 948290604 Fax +34 948291271 T 31006 Pamplona trasera, bajo C/ LuisMorondo,nº4, Address FUNDANEL) Marisa Gabarain(Coordinatorof Contact Name Laborales (ANEL) Asociación NavarradeEmpresas organisation Name ofcoordinating W Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Spain Country Lifelong Learning ESF PriorityArea –December2002 January Project duration ‘social economy’ T Project name raining planforbusinessesinthe elephone otal Funding 113,153 68,002 orkers inthesocialeconomy ebsite r get Group steps intraining Navarran businessestake European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 litate organisationalchangeandincreaseproductivity.” pany loyalty, professionalsatisfactionand theirworkenvironment.Itcanalsofaci- newskills.Itincreasestheircom- explains, “employeesgenerallyappreciatelearning An evaluationiscarriedoutduringandaftereachtraining course.AsMs.Vivar of themwomenandmorethantwo-thirdsovertheage45. tion technologies.In2002,therewere27coursesinvolving332people,onethird andcommunica- at work;cultureandorganisation;adaptingskills;information The trainingmodulescoverfourkeyareas:quality, environmentandriskprevention Improving jobsatisfaction companies, butareessentialforstafftoremaineffectiveintheirwork,”saysMs.Vivar. pany ormanagementmodel.Ratherwefocusonneedsthatareoftenoverlookedby apply acrossallsectors.“We’re notdealingwithtrainingneedsspecifictoonecom- to callsfrombusinessmanagersandstaff,designedasetoftrainingmodulesthat FUNDANEL hascarriedoutdetailedassessmentsoftrainingneedsand,responding tal overprofit,”explainsMariaJoséVivar, trainingmanagerandconsultant. Thedifferenceisthatthesebusinessesprioritisesocialcapi- manufacturing toservices. from theNavarraregion).“Ourmembersworkacrossallsectorsofeconomy designed tomeetthespecificneedsofANEL’s members(currently169businesses ofANEL,hasimplementedatrainingplan Since 2001,FUNDANEL,thetrainingarm Mapping trainingneeds the membershipofANEL(AsociaciónNavarradelasempresasEconomíaSocial). societies wherethebulkofsharecapitalisownedbyworkers),whomakeup in Navarrawithasocially-orientedlegalbasis(includingcooperativesandlabour tability withinorganisationsandamongtheworkforce.Helpisathandforbusinesses The paceoftechnologicalandmarketchangedemandsincreasingflexibilityadap- these crucialprofessionalskills. has developedtrainingmodulestailoredtowardsupdatingandadapting businesses inthe‘socialeconomy’fromSpanishregionofNavarra, areas thatareleftoutofacompany’s trainingplan.Anassociationfor munication, qualitymanagementandITliteracy. Butit’s oftenthesekey acrossallbusinesssectorssuchascom- Some genericskillsarenecessary W ritten in January 2004-project reference:C3-ES2 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market

Adaptability

Promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce, innovation and adaptability in work organisation, developing entrepreneurship and conditions facilitating job creation, and enhancing skills and boosting human potential in research, science and technology

and staff The children’s forstudents roomoffersflexiblesupport www.univie.ac.at/kinderbuero W [email protected] E-mail +43 142779107 Fax +43 1427710701 T 1080 Vienna Lammgasse 8/4, Address Karoline Iber Contact name of Vienna attheUniversity Children's Office organisation Name ofcoordinating andstudents University staff Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Austria Country Creating anadaptableworkforce ESF priorityarea December 2002-2005 Project duration University Children’s oftheVienna Office Project name elephone otal funding 308,838.76 142,065 ebsite r get group obligations Helping parentswithchildcare European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 the Children’s Office.” initiativessimilarto national networkandtostimulate exchangeofideasandfurther of theUniversitiesinVienna already, wehopeto also extendthistoawider, inter- ofanetwork afterthe completionoftheproject.Beingpart to continueourservice active inchildcareandchildren’s culture.Asthecoordinator elaborates,“ouraimis tive”, saysIber. TheChildren’s Officeisalready networkingwithotherinstitutions posi- wasvery feedback ofthosemothersandfatherswhoprofitedfrom oursupport orsimpleadvice,buttheoverall help topush,whetherthroughbabysittingservices couldalready “It isdifficulttosayexactlyhowmanyindividualcareers ourservices the facilities. children areregisteredintheChildren’s Office,which meansthattheyregularlyuse re institutions,andprovidesdetailsofapoolpotentialbabysitters.Morethan90 Itmediatesoffersprovidedbychildca- versities, theso-called'flyingnannyservice'. foreventsheldattheuni- The Children'sOfficealsocoordinateschildcareservices need,” saysIber. of crèchewherekidsupto12yearsagearelookedafterwheneverthereisa balance parenthoodandworkorstudyobligations.“Itisaflexiblyorganisedtype offeredbytheChildren'sOfficetohelp The children'sroomisoneofseveralservices Childcare services room,” statesIber. for advice,increasinglyyoungfathersareshowingupinourofficeorthechildren's And it'snotjustworkingmotherswhobenefit.“Althoughmainlycomehere oftheproject2,500kidshavebenefitedfromChildren’sSince thestart Office. The numberofuniversitystaffwithchildcareobligationsisashigh50%. their studies,becauseofdifficultiesincombiningthemwithchildcare,”saysMs.Iber. which isabout11,500people.“Around5%ofthisgroupthinkingbreaking Some 11%ofallthestudentsatuniversitiesinVienna havechildcareobligations, says KarolineIber, projectcoordinatorfromtheChildren'sOfficeproject. “Through theChildren’s parentsatuniversitiesinVienna,” Officeweaimtosupport Help balancingobligations family lifewithworkorstudiesprovestobedifficult. career. Various studiesandstatisticsshowthat,especiallyatuniversities,combining Parenthood isoftenareasonforchanging,delayingorsimplydroppingoutof obligations, makingtheuniversitymorechild-friendly. and studentsreconciletheirstudiesorworkinglifewithchildcare At theUniversityofVienna theproject‘Children’s Office’ishelpingstaff W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: D11-AT3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market and otherevents Preventagri ispromotednationwideviaagriculturalfairs www.preventagri.be W [email protected] E-mail +32 43664664 T B-4000 Liège Bd duRectorat5BatB32, Address Muriel Bossut Contact name Université deLiège organisation Name ofcoordinating Employed atrisk Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Belgium Country workforce Creating anadaptable ESF priorityarea 2001-2003 Project duration Preventagri Project name elephone otal funding 1,266,043.24 592,127 ebsite r get group community inBelgium Reaching outtothefarming European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ducers and farm vets. ducers andfarm and severalrelatedsectorshave requestedsimilarinitiatives,forexamplefoodpro- referencepointforworkon health andsafetystressrisks, become animportant A secondphaseoftheproject waslaunchedin2003andwilllastuntil2006.Ithas asaresult.” feelmoresupported on theagenda,andfarmers notintheagricultural community,”certainly saysMsBossut.“We’ve helpedtoputit local grassrootsorganisations.“Afewyearsago, people talkedofstressand community,The projecthasreceivedapositivereactionfromthefarming unionsand sofartakenupby350 farmers. service has receivedsome500calls.Trained psychologistsareon handforhomevisits–a available inFrenchandDutch,whichuptonow free helplineAgricallispermanently A directintervention. In additiontoresearchandtraining,theprojectalsosupports profession orendingupincrisissituations.” and handlestress,”saysMsBossut.“Inthiswaywecanavoidpeopleleavingthe early,“It’s tointervene important arebetterequippedtoanticipate sothatfarmers andstudentsinagriculture. ticularly targetingyoungfarmers sector anditsmaincauses.Aseriesoftrainingeventshasalsobeenorganised,par- toassessstresslevelsintheagricultural Almost 1,000peoplerespondedtoasurvey Prevention betterthancure Bossut, projectcoordinatorwithintheUniversityofLiègepsychologydepartment. our activitiesaremoreeffectiveandresearchisbasedonbetterdata,”saysMuriel “With Preventagri wehavestrengthenedthelinksbetweenresearchandaction.Itmeans years ofresearchintothecausesandpreventionoccupationalstress. raising. LaunchedinJune2001,theprojectbuildsonexperienceofover10 andawareness ce throughacombinationofresearch,training,directintervention wide projectthataimstopreventstress-relatedillnessandaccidentsintheworkpla- Preventagri,anation- hasrespondedbysupporting The Belgianfederalgovernment action Research backsuptargeted workers incommercialfishing,constructionandhealthsocialcare. workers alsohaveoneofthehighestratesaccidentsatwork,exceededonlyby isoneoftheprofessionsmostvulnerabletooccupationalstress.Agricultural farming ty. Technological change,economicpressureandsuccessivefoodcrisesmeanthat throughouttheEUfacefinancialinsecuri- It isestimatedthataround25%offarmers ing strain. whoselivelihoodsareunderever-increas- tofarmers giving vitalsupport inawareness-raisingandtrainingactivities, people haveparticipated health andsafetywithintheagriculturalsectorinBelgium.Some3,200 A nationwideinitiativeisputtingthespotlightonstressmanagementand W ritten in July2004–project reference: D9-BE4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Service personneltakeonmorevariedtasks Service ?ID=876 http://www.issworld.com/view.asp W (ISS partner) [email protected] ssfjob@herlev.dk E-mail +45 44527000 T Herlev V Address Niels Tolstrup Contact name "Jobhuset Saxbo" Herlev municipality organisation Name ofcoordinating Employed at-risk,unemployed Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Denmark Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF priorityarea May 2002-December2004 Project duration Multiservice Project name elephone otal funding indebyvej 2,2730 2,830,469 857,315 ebsite r get group service staff service building anewgenerationof From cleanertoschoolsteward: European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 gramme willbeintegratedinto thegeneralactivitiesofISSandmunicipality. After ESFco-fundingcomesto anendinDecember2004,itisexpectedthatthepro- industry’s image.” is helpingtoimprovetheservice says Mr. Cronquist.“Jobsatisfactionhasincreased dramaticallyasaresult,andthis A schooljanitorcouldtakeonbasiccookingormaintenance tasks,forexample,” taskstomaketheirjobmorevaried. vision. Theycanalsodocoursesinotherservice instructor,“As anauxiliary staffgetbasictraininginteachingtechniquesandsuper- More variety–more jobsatisfaction son isstilloutofwork.Currentemployeesalsohavealot togainfromtakingpart. inthepilotprogramme,onlyoneper- Of the24unemployedpeoplethattookpart inanothertrainingcourse. five weeks,whilehe/sheisparticipating instructor’for the endofprogramme,theytakeovertaskstheir‘auxiliary andteambuilding.Towardsincluding workshadowing,on-the-jobtraining,theory Over theprogrammeperiod,eachtraineecarriesoutapersonalisedsetofactivities of employees. ineachone,togetherwithanequalnumber unemployed peoplehaveparticipated havenowlaunchedthesecondandthirdtrainingrounds.Some 20 the partners Having successfullyproventheconceptduringafirstnine-monthpilotprogramme, facility services. the traineesonaone-to-onebasis,”saysMadsCronquist,projectmanageratISS trainandsupport instructor’.Theysupervise, skills bytakingontheroleof‘auxiliary market forhealthorfitnessreasons.Atthesametime,existingstaffcandeveloptheir individualised trainingtounemployedpeoplewhofaceproblemsenteringthelabour that incorporatesseveralinnovations.“We’ve workedoutaprogrammethatoffers launchedanewprojecttodeveloptrainingprogramme In 2002,thepartnership T needs. public resourcesandservice plus theunemployed)makesupjust56%ofitstotal,placingincreasingpressureon staff.Denmark’sin qualifiedandflexibleservice activepopulation(thoseinwork It hashadthedualaimofhelpingpeoplebackintoworkandmeetingshortage Copenhagen City, supplier, andthefacilityservices ISS,beganabout10yearsago. The collaborationbetweenthemunicipalityofHerlev, westof atown8kmnorth and helpedtomeetemployers’demandsforqualifiedpersonnel. jobs fortheunemployed,improvedskillsandflexibilityoftheirstaff, company,with thefacilityservices ISS.Together theyhavecreatednew Herlev municipalityinDenmarkhashadalongandfruitfulpartnership wo targetgroups W ritten in April2004–project reference: D8-DK2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market 4-T logo www.4T-projekti.net W [email protected] E-mail + 35832157302 Fax + 35832157784 T 33014 Tampere Kalevantie 4 Address Mikko Nieminen Contact name T Institute forExtensionStudies, organisation Name ofcoordinating SMEs andtheiremployees Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Finland Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF priorityarea 2002-April2005 January Project duration The fourwaymodel´4T´ Project name ampere University elephone otal funding 4,252,392 1,638,991 ebsite r get group Holistic’ business support forSMEs Holistic’ businesssupport European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 dissemination andmainstreaming ofourresults.” emphasis isnowondeveloping company-orientedmodels,andensuringwidespread “The projecthasbeenwelcomed positivelybySMEs,”saysMr. Nieminen. “Our Encouraging feedback workplace environment. development plans,companiesareabletoreducethehealth risksandimprovethe for SMEsinthemetalindustry. Through acombinationofevaluation,trainingand Finally, threesub-projectsfocusonemployee healthandwell-beingintheworkplace adoption anduseofnewtechnologies. mation andmachiningsectorsarereceivingadvice trainingintheselection, T ging workpatterns. T ping companiestointegrateknowledgemanagementintotheirbusinessactivities. Building knowledge-anotherkeyprojectthemeistackledthroughasub-projecthel- help themunderstandandrespondtochange. FutureClinic’tofindtools companies willbeabletosearchon-lineviathe‘Virtual companies anticipatechangeanddevelopappropriateactionplans.Induecourse, with futurechangeisthemaintheme.Here‘FutureClinic’providesmodelstohelp The projectinvolvessevensub-projectsfocusingonfourdifferentthemes.Coping 4-T: Fourkeythemes pational health.” re, weaimtoanalyseacompany’s needsinrelationtoskills,technologyandoccu- Extension Studies(IES)attheUniversityofTampere. “With aconstanteyeonthefutu- outtheirjob,”saysMikkoNieminen,projectmanagerwithintheInstitutefor carry or whoarefacingproblemswiththeirwell-beingandhealthatworkabilityto “Our targetgrouparemainlyemployeeswhoseskillsorknowledgeoutofdate, panies anticipateandadjusttochange. thatcanhelpcom- services todeveloptrainingandsupport up withotherpartners Studies, Finn-MediResearchLtd.andTampere Technology CenterLtd.-haveteamed -theInstitituteforExtension throughEQUAL,threemainpartners cult. With support promoting ahealthyworkingenvironmentandstafftraining,canbeextremelydiffi- logical change,neworganisationalapproachesandfuturemarkettrends,whilealso Small companiesrelyonfewpeopletodomanytasks.Keepingpacewithtechno- Some 100SMEshavebenefitedsofar, involvingover800employees. tohelpthemcopewithstructuralchange. services training andsupport ofFinnishorganisationsisofferinglocalSMEsarange A consortium wo sub-projectsfocusonthethemeofnewtechnology. SMEsinthefoundry, auto- raining isofferedincommunication,dataprocessing,newtechnologyandchan- W ritten in March2004– projectreference:D5-FI2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Employees atMetroplast (parent company) www.plasticomnium.com W [email protected] E-mail +33 385414697 Fax +33 385971200 T F-71100 Châlon-sur-Saône Nord Zone Portuaire Rue DenisPapin- Address Emmanuel Denan Contact name Métroplast organisation Name ofcoordinating Employees Ta Objective 2 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding France Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF priorityarea 2003-2005 Project duration Strategy Development ofSkills–ANew Project name elephone otal funding 247,182 98,492 ebsite r get group improved workforce performance improved workforceperformance "Holistic" managementleadsto European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ed towinaTPMprizein2004fromJapan. In 2005,theprojectwillenteraphaseofconsolidation. Theprojectisfullyexpect- force.” more motivatedandthetrainingprogrammehasnowbecome thefactory’s driving to getinvolvedinotheractivitiesthanproduction,” saysMrDenan.“Theyare intheimprovementsand from staffhasbeenpositive.“Theyarehappytotakepart Following apilotphasein2003,theprojectisnowexpanding andsofarfeedback responsibilities aresharedoutacrossalllevelsofthecompany,” saysMrDenan. personal development.Inaddition,moretasksaredelegatedtoemployeessince employee becomesmorefocusedonmaintainingcompanystandardsandtheirown “By includingallthestaffinthisprocess,achangeofattitudeisbroughtabout:each All-inclusive approach or withmachinery. en accordingtothetypesofproblemsthatstaffhaveencounteredinworkplace example, skills,linguisticortechnicaltraining.”Thethemesandobjectivesarechos- is madeupoffourtofivepeople,whodevelopaspecialisedfieldaction,for “Eachteam Themes tobefocusedonarethenagreeduponandteamsformed. gramme’s methodologyandthesolutionstobeimplementedwithincompany.” toworktogetheronthepro- Denan:“With TPM,theideaisforeveryone Says Mr workplace. ofindividualsinthe ofallstaff,andgreaterinitiativeonthepart active participation tition andtoimproveitsuseofresources.Thismanagementconceptisbasedonthe The trainingprogramme’s objectiveistomakethecompanystandoutfromcompe- A trainingprogramme fornewqualifications Productive Management. gramme forits83employeesbasedontheJapaneseconceptofTPMorTotal Theresultwasathree-yeartrainingpro- of actiontoimproveourperformance.” “So thecompany’s managementtooktheleadanddecidedtodevelopanewplan ofthemarket,”saysscheme’sin ourcorner projectcoordinatorEmmanuelDenan. “We hadbecomeawarethattherewasincreasing competitivenessandcompetition ted workforce. resulting inthecompany’s improvedcompetitivenessandamoremotiva- Métroplast, haslaunchedatrainingprogrammeforitsworkersthatis waste, A Frenchcompanyspecialisedinthecollectionofsorted W ritten in August2004 – projectreference: D10-FR2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market T rainees takelessonsincooking www.otek.edu.gr W [email protected] E-mail +30 2103231821 Fax +30 2103224602 T 10559 Athens Dragatsaniou 4, Address Konstaninos Kravaritis Contact name Education &Training Organisation ofTourism organisation Name ofcoordinating low skilled,employed Seasonally unemployed, Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Greece Country Creating anadaptableworkforce ESF priorityarea (Phase A) October 2001-December2003 Project duration services andupgradeprovided modernise trainingto Programmes offurther Project name elephone otal funding 516,373 (PhaseA) 387,280 (PhaseA) ebsite r get group tourism industry T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 standards in the industry toreflect touristdemands.” standards intheindustry andraise “Graduates finditeasiertoworkandhasalsohelped tomodernise inthejobmarket,”saysMr.“The coursehasdefinitelyproveditsworth Kravaritis. Modernising touristservices widely recognisedwithinthesectorandbyGreekauthorities. now women. Thosewhocompletethecourseareawardeda professional certificate employed withinthetouristsectororunemployed.Almost 50%ofthestudentsare The courseistargetedatpeoplewithlowqualifications, whoareeitherseasonally involving1,157students. increase indemand.Athirdyearhasjuststarted, In itssecondyear, thenumberofstudentsincreasedby16%to1,449,reflecting Between 2002-2003,thecourseattractedsome881studentsfromalloverGreece. or French,andcoursesincommunicationinterpersonalrelations. orcookery. languagetraininginEnglish confectionary Allarerequiredtoundertake Students canchoosebetweencoursesfocusingonthehotelbusiness,restaurants, in practicalplacements.” ofthetrainingcourse General DirectorofOTEK.“Studentsspendalmostaquarter ke practicalexperienceinthespecialityoftheirchoice,”saysKonstaninosKravaritis, “We tounderta- emphasisongivingstudentstheopportunity haveplacedparticular of thetourismandhospitalityindustries. practical andtheoreticaltrainingtoimproveskillsknowledgeindifferentareas ofTourismthe Ministry launchedanationwidecoursein2002thatencompasses In responsetothis,theOrganisationofTourism EducationandTraining, of aspart A steptowardsacareerintourism for professionaldevelopmentinthesector. nationwide trainingprogrammeorqualificationintourism,limitingtheopportunities the economyisthereforehardtounderstate.Nonethelessuntilrecentlytherewasno to mated toemployaround10%ofthetotalemployedpopulation.Itsimportance T dents andisrunallacrossthecountry. launched in2002,thecoursehasanannualintakeofover1,000stu- Organisation ofTourism EducationandTraining (OTEK)inGreece.Re- arethedualobjectivesofatrainingcourseofferedby industry inthetourist Raising standardsandincreasingemploymentopportunities ourism contributestoapproximately19%ofnationalGDPinGreece,andisesti- raining helpstomoderniseGreece’s W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: D12-GR2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Students gettogripswithnewtechnologies www.sch.gr W [email protected] E-mail +30 2610960350 Fax +30 2610960308 T GR-10185, Athens 15, Ermou Address Dr. MichaelParaskevas Contact name Society fortheInformation Office ofNationalEducation, Ministry organisation Name ofcoordinating administration staff Students, teachers,schools, Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Greece Country Creating anadaptableworkforce ESF priorityarea 2000-2004 Project duration Greek SchoolNetwork Project name elephone otal funding 17,809,088 9,923,980 ebsite r get group accounts hadbeensetupbySeptember2004. schoolscurrentlyenjoyaccess.Atotalof45,000email while 92%ofprimary in Greece Networking studentsandteachers European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 government’s Society. FrameworkProgrammefortheInformation been extendedto2006.Funding hasbeensharedbetweentheESFandGreek rently beingupgradedwithnewbroadbandinstallations, andtheprojecthasnow for futureuseinadvancedscientificandresearchapplications. Thenetworkiscur- The projecthashelpeddeveloponeofthelargestintranets inGreece,withpotential technologiesatanearly age.” new information to develop theskillsofstudentsbyintroducingthemto Paraskevas. “Italsoserves new technologiesforeducation,communicationandcooperation,” accordingtoDr. forstaffbypromotingtheuseof ofsupport “The Networkrepresentsamajorform Developing theskillsofstaffandstudents To Ministry.” provides linkstoeducationalandadministrativecontentmanagedbytheEducation schools,andalso andsecondary teachers andadministrativestaffinbothprimary “The Networkistargetedattheeducationalsectorasawhole,includingstudents, Paraskevas, Technical DirectoroftheGreekSchoolNetwork. exchangeand cooperationamongschools,”saysDr.information Michael whilepromoting learning via aneducationalintranet,withtheaimofsupporting “We schools andsecondary wantedtocreateanationalinfrastructureforprimary learningandpromoting cooperation Supporting forthosewithspecialneeds. systemsandeducationservices benefit frome-learning like webcasting,teleconferencingandVideo onDemand.Italsoallowsusersto services aswelldiscussionforumsandmoreadvancedinformatics and internet, The systemintroducedprovidesaccesstostandardcommunicationtoolslikee-mail schoolsaroundthecountry.dary andsecon- gned aprojecttodevelopnationaleducationalintranet,linkingprimary desi- working capacityofgeographicallydispersedschools,theGreekgovernment To schoolsinGreece. schoolsand92%ofprimary ce linkingallsecondary Ministry. Theprojecthassucceededincreatinganationalintranetservi- objectives oftheGreekSchoolNetwork,aprojectledbyEducation and theprovisionofdigitalresourcesforschoolshavebeenprincipal networkintheeducationsector The creationofanationwideinformation

promote innovativeteachingmethodsandimprovethecommunicationnet- date, 100% of Greek secondary schoolshavebeenconnectedtothenetwork, date, 100%ofGreeksecondary W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: D13-GR5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Development PlanatDublinCastleon30thMay2001 ofAgriculture'slaunchthe Food * TheDepartment _businesses/food sector.htm www.fas.ie/services_to W [email protected] [email protected] E-mail +353 16070618 Fax +353 16070948/89 T Dublin 4 27-33 UpperBaggotStreet, Address John Simon Pat Moynihan Contact name Food &DrinksSector Employment Authority) F organisation Name ofcoordinating the meatsector New andexistingworkersin Ta Objective 1+intransition ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Ireland Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF priorityArea 2000-2006 Project duration sector In-company trainingforthemeat Project name AS (NationalTraining and elephone otal funding 524,680 (2000-2003) 299,068 (2000-2003) eb site r get group in theIrishmeatindustry T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 * workforce. ofanational strategytoimprovetheskillsandcompetitivenessofIrish skills arepart Irish economy. andaccreditationofwork-based In-companytraining,lifelonglearning isausefulmodelforothersectors ofthe The nationalprogrammeforthemeatindustry Wider lessonstobelearnt in theworkplace.” offoodsafetyandqualitymanagement employees aremoreawareoftheimportance Moynihan. “Andit’s mucheasiertorecruitandretain staffasaresult.Furthermore “There’s nowamoreclearlydefinedcareerstructure intheindustry,” says Mr. 30 staffawardedatraineraccreditationand18anassessoraccreditation. Approved AssessmentCentres’.Sofar, 18companieshaveachievedthisstatus,with In-company trainingandassessmentisofferedthroughcompaniesregisteredas‘FAS ficates havebeenissuedtodate. (APL).Over700certi- underthesystemofAccreditationPriorLearning certification are suitablebothfornewentrantstothesectorandexistingworkerswhocanacquire accreditation,havebeensetand future. Nationallyrecognisedstandards,whichcarry sectorsinthenear Similar programmesareplannedforthesheep/lambandpoultry industrial abattoirworkersanddeboners/trimmersinthebeefpigmeatsectors. W bodies. agencies, collegesandgovernment meat industry, employerandemployeeorganisations,therelevantfooddevelopment Steering Group,setuptooverseetheprojectandcomprisingrepresentativesof sector ofFAS. ThishasbeenoneofthekeyrolesNationalMeatStandards been criticaltoitssuccess,”saysPatMoynihan,managerwithinthefoodanddrinks involvementintheproject’s“Securing industry developmentandimplementationhas Industry endorsement Agency –isleadingaprojectoftrainingandaccreditationforIrishmeatworkers. se, theFoodandDrinksSectorofFAS –theIrishNationalTraining andEmployment lations fortheindustry, andstiffcompetitionwithintheEUworldmarkets.Inrespon- difficultiesinattractinghighcalibreworkers;newnationalregu- food safetyconcerns; hasfacedanumberofchallengesoverrecentyears:consumer The Irishmeatindustry Ireland, promotingnationalstandardsintrainingandqualifications. ofanationalstrategyin-companytrainingin The projectispart isimprovingthesector’stry image,productivityandemployeemorale. Investment intrainingandupgradingofworkers’skillsthemeatindus- Sector, FAS. Division, FAS,Assistant Director General,Industry andPatMoynihan, Manager, Food&Drinks EU CommissionerforAgriculture; Joe Walsh, T.D., IrishMinister forAgriculture;JohnO’Gorman, EUCommissionerforHealth&Consumer Protection;FranzFischler,From lefttoright:DavidByrne, raining andqualifications ork hassofarfocusedonnewnationaltrainingandassessmentprogrammesfor W ritten in April2004–project reference: D7-IE3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Industrial research:vitalforfutureinnnovation © GettyImages DonBeshop www.itia.cnr.it W [email protected] E-mail + 39(0)223699981 Fax + 39(0)223699980 T Milan Italy V ITIA-CNR Address Spena Pier Raffaele Professor FrancescoJovane/ Contact Name ITIA-CNR organisation Name ofcoordinating Y Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Italy Country Adaptability intheworkforce ESF PriorityArea June 2002-December2003 Project duration Master inRicercaIndustriale Project name elephone otal Funding oung people iale Lombardia,20/A20131 1,355,699 948,989 ebsite r get Group between industry andresearch between industry Bridging thegap European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 field,” addsProfessorJovane. tries tohelptheEuropeanResearchAreabecomealeader intheglobalresearch would begoodtobroadenourscopebeyondItalyinclude therestofEUcoun- tious planisinthepipelinetocreateaEuropeanMasters inIndustrialResearch.“It That iswhyathirdMastersplannedforOctober2004 andanevenmoreambi- even greaterimpactontheindustrialresearchsector, weneedtotrainmorepeople.” “We arepleasedwithourresults,”saysProfessorJovane.“Butofcourse,tomakean Ambitions fortheEuropean ResearchArea October 2003. Research CouncilofItaly. Thesecondintakeofstudentsbegantheircoursein ke foundemploymentwithinweeksofreceivingtheirdiplomafromtheNational So fartheschemeisprogressingwell.Some85percentofgraduatesfirstinta- only.” andarenotlimitedtotheory of howtocontributeinnovationinindustry ned. “Thiswaytheygaininsightintobothdomains,andwillhaveagenuinegrasp concer- lasts ayearandmustbecarriedoutbetweentheInstituteindustry Jovane. Duringtheirstudies,theyareassignedanindustrialresearchproject,which “Most ofourstudentscomefromanengineeringbackground,”saysProfessor about organisingtheMasterscourseasawayofsustaininggrowthinsector. Recognising thisasaflawinthedevelopmentofEuropeanindustry, theITIA-CNRset withpractice Combining theory except research.” se, ITIA-CNR.“Industry, generally, tendstopourbackitsprofitsintoallotherareas, try,” saysProfessorFrancescoJovaneofthefoundinginstitutefornewMaster’s cour- linkintheresearch-innovationchainisalltoooftenoverlookedbyindus- “This important bridged. vital thatthegapbetweeninnovationthroughresearchandbusinessdevelopmentis inanevermorecompetitiveglobaleconomy, tosurvive itis For Europeanindustry ce toconsolidatetheirresearchskillsinarealworkingenvironment. ched inItaly. Taking 18monthstocomplete,itoffersstudentsthechan- A uniqueandmuch-valuedMastersinIndustrialResearchhasbeenlaun- W ritten in January 2004-project reference:D1-IT1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Promoting theInsprintMasterprogramme www.tagliacarne.it/MasterInSprint W [email protected] E-mail +39 067842136 Fax +39 06780521 T 00178 Rome V Istituto GuglielmoTagliacarne, Address Ms MarilinaLabia Contact name Istituto GuglielmoTagliacarne organisation Name ofcoordinating Y Ta Objective 1 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Italy Country Creating anadaptableworkforce ESF priorityarea June 2002-June2003 Project duration Development ofIntellectualProperty INSPRINT Master–Innovationand Project name elephone otal funding oung graduates ia AppiaPignatelli,62, 754,060 527,842 ebsite r get group property forinnovation property T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 experts inintellectual property.”experts highlevelofinterestfrom young people,andthereisstillastrongdemandfor very itandishopefulthatthecoursecanbecontinuedinfuture.“Weported havea Marilina Labiaputstheproject’s thatsup- successdowntotheuniquepartnership now employedinrelatedfields. who completedthecoursewerewomen.Seventeenofproject’s graduatesare sectorismale-dominated,13ofthe20students Although theintellectualproperty Putting newskillsintopractice more specialisedlegalandeconomicskillsinthefieldofintellectualproperty.” ciplines. TheMastersqualificationwasdesignedtosupplementthistrainingwith their firstjob.Manyhadabackgroundinlaw, butotherscamefromavarietyofdis- “Our studentswereallyounggraduates,whoeitherunemployedorlookingfor Labia oftheTagliacarne Institute. ororganisationworkinginthefield,”explainsMarilina and atraineeshipwithfirm “The Mastersprogrammeconsistsofthreephases:classroomteaching,projectwork, Three phaselearning especially targetedatstudentsfromdisadvantagedregionsinItaly. inintellectualproperty.study programmedesignedtotrainexperts Theprojectwas bysettinguptheInsprintMastersqualification,a Institute respondedtothisshortage ledbythenationalPatentsandTrademarksA partnership OfficeandtheTagliacarne Italy. thecaseinsouthern trained inthefield.Thisisparticularly ofprofessionals world, buttheItalianlabourmarketcurrentlyhasaseriousshortage innovationinthebusiness supporting isakeyareaofexpertise Intellectual property and economicskillsrelatedtomanagingtrademarkspatents. The Mastersprogrammehassofartrained20studentsinspecialistlegal training foryoungprofessionalsinthekeyfieldofintellectualproperty. innovationbyprovidingspecialised hassupported An Italianpartnership raining experts inintellectual raining experts W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: D14-IT5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market arrangements. Image usedforthecampaignofdailyroutine www.emancipatieweb.nl www.dagindeling.nl W [email protected] E-mail +31 703334049 Fax +31 703335889 T 2509 LV DenHaag P Anna vanHannoverstraat4 Address Jannie Roemeling Contact name &Employment of SocialAffairs Daily RoutineProjectTeam, Ministry organisation Name ofcoordinating responsibilities People combiningworkandcare Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding The Netherlands Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF priorityarea December 2001–2006 Project duration Daily RoutineProject Project name .O. 90801 elephone otal funding 17,5 million(2001-2006) 17,5 million(2001-2006) ebsite r get group to complementprivatelife Flexible workarrangements European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 Netherlands. from France,Finland,Italy,practice tonationalpolicy’ involving partners andthe The teamisalsoleadingaEuropeanproject‘DailyRoutine arrangements,fromlocal companies, schools,municipalitiesandsoon.” atnationalandlocallevel, mation, anddisseminatethistoministries,socialpartners Affairs andEmployment.“We analysetheresults,translatethemintopolicyinfor- seriously,” ofSocial saysJannieRoemeling,leader oftheprojectteaminMinistry “We takeourroleinimplementationandmainstreamingofprojectresultsvery Multiplying effect October 2004. in 66haverecentlybeenapprovedandaround60areexpectedto start a further December 2001fundedthroughESF. Some27experimentshavebeencompleted, The IncentiveSchemeendedinMay2003,andafollow-upschemebegan sed by341overfivemonths,reducingthepatientwaitinglist. parenting responsibilities.Bydoingso,thenumberofoperationscarriedoutincrea- introducing aninnovativecontractthatallowsthemtofittheirworkaround mising. Forexample,ahospitalrecruitedmorewomenfortheiroperatingteamsby workinindustry. pro- to introducingflexi-timeorpart-time Theresults havebeenvery Experiments rangedfromprovidingleisureactivitiesforchildrenoutofschoolhours policy.applied toorganisationsorinlocal,regionalnationalgovernment experiments werefinanced,producingconcepts,modelsandinstrumentsthatcanbe solutions toreconcileworkandfamilylife.Duringthenextfouryears,140local andcomeup with nisations, businessesandlocalauthoritiestoworkinpartnerships The ‘DailyRoutineIncentiveScheme’wassetupin1999tochallengewelfareorga- Innovative solutions nisation ofspacearestillinadequatefortheneedsparentsandcarers. openingtimes,andorga- ofservices, to adjust.Theflexibilityofemployers,delivery Despite thesetrends,thesocialinfrastructureandworkingconditionshavebeenslow one-parent familiesandnon-traditionalfamilyentitiescontinuetogrow. thenumberof are takingagreatershareofchildcareresponsibilities.Furthermore, More andmorewomenarecombiningworkwithfamilycommitments,fathers Netherlands. Athirdroundisunderconstruction. T into thelife-workpoliciesofcompanies,organisationsandgovernment. The resultsof140experimentsinflexibleworkarrangementsarefeeding wo newroundsofexperimentshavenowbeenlaunchedinthe W ritten in April2004–project reference: D6-NL2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market designed bythestudentsforchildren One ofthe‘characters’inapedagogicalstereoscopicfilm [email protected] E-mail +351 291225707 Fax +351 291229036 T 060 Funchal Av Address Alfredo ReisDeus Contact Name Estereográficas Arquimedes –Produções organisation Name ofcoordinating Y Ta Objective 1 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Portugal Country Adaptability intheworkforce ESF PriorityArea December 2002 September 2001 Project duration 3D stereographicproducers Project name elephone otal Funding oung people 172,423 145,551 . Arriaga,75-Sala306,9000 r get Group young peopleinMadeira Creative jobsfor European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 Brazil. and severaltimesinPortugal handicapped players,andithasbeenperformed in theofficialopeningceremonyofWorld BasketballChampionshipformentally freely onthescreencomplementdancersmovement. Theshowwaspremiered bydisabledandnon-disableddancers. The3-Dimagesthatappeartomove formed Arquimedes courseproducedananimatedfilmusedasthe backdroptoadanceper- organisation “InclusiveDance”,thestudentsof with anon-governmental TeamingThe trainingcoursehasalsoproducedsomeinteresting partnerships. up Vi mics andstudiesofthefourelements:fire,water, airandearth.” conception, humanandanimalanatomymovement,botany, dynamics,ergono- and3Dvisualisation.Thecourseitselfincludedwebdesign,multimedia geometry management andcreativity, aswellfortheirtechnicalskillsindrawing,maths, Reis Deus.“Beforeenteringthecourse,studentsweretestedinEnglish,stress “We designedthecoursetogiveourstudentsbestjobprospects,”explainsMr. set uptheirowncompany. work inthecomputergameindustry, toworkfreelanceor webdesign,havestarted months in2001-2002,sevenarenowworkingArquimedes,whileothersfound and athreemonthworkplacement.Ofthe12studentswhocompletedfull15- The courseisnowinitssecondyear. Itcomprises12monthsoffull-timetraining, as stereographicproducers.” sation, wedesignedourownspecialisedprogrammethatqualifiespeopletowork trainingorgani- Alfredo ReisDeus,GeneralDirectorofArquimedes.“Asacertified no onearoundwiththeknow-howortechnicalcompetencestoworkus,”says “We wantedtoexpandourcapacityproduce3Dstereographicfilm,buttherewas An innovativetraining ced ITtrainingcoursesthroughouttheisland. based inMadeira,andalongsidestereographicproduction,theyalsoofferadvan- of stereographicdesign.Onethem,Arquimedes–ProduçõesEstereográficas,is But thereisonlyahandfulofcompaniesworldwideworkinginthisspecialisedfield film, architecture,webdesign,computergamesandcompanymarketingmaterial. Computer modellingandanimationof3-Dimageshasmanyapplicationsincluding cialised field,thistrainingcourseoffersitsgraduatesabrightfuture. spe- images forfilmanimationormultimediaapplications.Stillavery 3-D with cutting-edgetechnologyinthedesignandcreationofvirtual towork A companyinMadeiraisgivingyoungpeopletheopportunity rt ual andrealdancers W ritten in January 2004-project reference:D2-PT1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market T wo of the trainers participating inthejobrotation scheme wo ofthetrainersparticipating www.halmstad.se/socialforvaltningen W [email protected] E-mail +46 35156494 Fax +46 35138015 T 301 06Halmstad Box 230 Axel Olssonsgata4B Address Camilla Eklund-Hagel Contact Name W Municipality ofHalmstad,Social organisation Name ofcoordinating Local authorityemployees Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType 267,528 SEK( T 84,000 SEK( ESF Funding Sweden Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF PriorityArea October 2002-March2003 Project duration Job RotationinHalland Project name elephone otal Funding elfare Authority ebsite r get Group € € 9347) 29,770) local authorityemployees Job rotation givescareerboostto European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 education authorityofHalland. Asimilarprojectisplanned withinthe a lotofinterestfromotherlocal governments. andithasattracted Association ofLocalAuthorities involvingover500participants, The schemewaspresentedinOctober2003atanational conferenceoftheSwedish positive reactionthatwehopeitwillcontinueinthefuture.” abouttrainingtheir owncolleagues,buttheschemereceivedsucha were nervous “The resultshaveexceededallourexpectations,”Ms. Eklund-Hagel. “Atfirststaff recruitment oftwotrainerstotrain50staffmembers. involvingtheinternal back intofull-timetraining.Athirdprojectisnowstarting, employmentcontracts withintheauthority.awarded permanent Theseventhwent Six ofthesevenpeopletakenontoreplaceselectedtrainersweresubsequently Creating newjobs toupgradetheirskills.” staff theopportunity Hagel. “Theschemehashelpedthemtogrowprofessionally, andhasgivenother lifting techniquesorapproachestoworkingwiththedisabled,”saysMsEklund- with otherstaffmembers.Forexample,theygavetraininginsignlanguage,special “The staffselectedastrainersallhadspecialisedknowledgeorexperiencetoshare authority. positionsinthe the training,andsevenunemployedpeopleweregiventemporary six monthsoutoftheirexistingjobtotrainotherstaff.Some350staffbenefitedfrom projects havebeenrunsofar, givingfourexistingstaffmembersthechancetotake Twogramme toupgradestaffskillsandprovidecareerdevelopmentopportunities. ofthesocialwelfareauthority’sThe jobrotationschemeisanintegralpart pro- Meeting stafftrainingneeds best workinpractice.” Sweden. “We haveworkedcloselywiththeemploymentofficetoclarifyhowitcan a newjobrotationschemeattheSocialWelfare AuthorityofHalmstadinHalland, low skillslevelofreplacementworkers,”saysCamillaEklund-Hagel,coordinator orfearsabouttheamountofadministration “Perhaps itwasalackofinformation, ged intrainingactivities.However, theideanevertookofftoscaleanticipated. as itscentrepiece.Unemployedpeopleweretoobtainworkreplacestaffenga- When Sweden’s in2000,jobrotationwasseen ESFObjective3programmestarted ployed. workplacementsfortheunem- existing staffwhileofferingtemporary for ty inHalland,Sweden,isprovidingcareerdevelopmentopportunities An innovativeapproachtojobrotation,implementedbyalocalauthori- W ritten in March2004– projectreference: D3-SE4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market mental disabilities Ulrika at“Äppelgården”–aworkplaceforpeoplewith www.stockholm.se/kompetens W stockholm.se carina.schmidt@stadshuset. E-mail +46-8-508 29862 Fax +46-8-508 29402 T 105 35Stockholm Kompetensfonden, Stadshuset Address Carina Schmidt Contact name Authority City ofStockholm,SocialWelfare organisation Name ofcoordinating Employed at-risk Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype 53,623,500 SEK( T 18,578,500 SEK( ESF funding Sweden Country work force Creating anadaptable ESF priorityarea 2002-September2005 January Project duration Light, rally, function Project name elephone otal funding ebsite r get group € € 5,821,681) 2,016,991) among careworkers Using anddevelopingskills European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 tainable,” saysMs.Schmidt. unit intheauthorityandbroughtideawiththem.Itproves thatthemodelissus- now comingonboard.“Someoftheworkplace‘engines’ havemovedtoanother are Since theprojectbegan,severalotherunitsthatcouldnot originallyparticipate much morelikelytofeeltheirskillsarefullyused,”saysMs. Schmidt. revealedthatstaff whofeelahighleveloftrustintheworkplaceare initial survey first objectiveistoensurethatexistingskillsamongthestaff areusedtothefull.An torunsessionsinteamandtrustbuilding. “Our Several workplaceshavealsostarted Making bestuseofexistingskills thecourse. ted orarecurrentlyundertaking with disabilitiesbeganinautumn2003,and180employeeshavealreadycomple- and willlastuntilSeptember2005.Afoundationcourseonworkingwithpeople The secondphaseoftheprojectfocusesonimplementingdevelopmentplans, individual employees,basedonguidancematerialdesignedbytheprojectleaders. By August2003,individualskillsdevelopmentplanshadbeendrawnupfor2,375 dination role. day trainingcourse.Eight‘processleaders’tookonastrongerleadershipandcoor- across Stockholm.Theymetregularlytosharetheirexperienceandattendedatwo- analysis amongtheircolleagues.Around200such‘engines’wereselectedfrom Each workplacenominatedan‘engine’–thepersonresponsibleforleadingskills would continuetooperateaftertheprojectends.” Stockholm socialwelfareauthority. “Andalsotobuildasustainablestructurethat experiences,” saysCarinaSchmidt,overallprojectcoordinatorintheCityof “We oneanotherandexchangetheir wantedtohelpthevariousauthoritiessupport Networking betweenlocalauthorities ther 19localauthoritiesand139differentworkplaces. bringingtoge- They thereforedecidedtolaunchacommonprojectwithESFsupport, forthedisabled. ting newstaffandtrainingexistingindeliveringcareservices In recentyears,localauthoritiesinStockholmhaveexperienceddifficultiesrecrui- 2,000 oftheiremployees. ve programmeofskillsanalysesandindividualtrainingplansforover Stockholm socialwelfareauthoritydecidedtoimplementacomprehensi- Staff motivationandjobsatisfactionhaveimprovedsignificantlysincethe W ritten in March2004– projectreference: D4-SE2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Women's Participation

Specific measures to improve women's access to and participation in the labour market, including their career development, their access to new job opportunities and to starting-up of businesses, and to reduce vertical and horizontal segregation on the basis of sex in the labour market

Mafalda-run project Y oung girlsgettogripswithnewtechnologiesona www.mafalda.at W [email protected] E-mail +43 31633730090 Fax +43 316337300 T A-8010 Graz Glacisstrasse 9 Address Ingrid Erlacher Contact name und jungenFrauen und Unter-stützungvonMädchen Mafalda –Verein zurFörderung organisation Name ofcoordinating Y Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype 2003: T 2003: ESF funding Austria Country W ESF priorityarea 1989 -ongoing Project duration Mafalda Project name elephone otal funding oung women omen’s participation ebsite r get group € € 825,000 240,000 employment mouldinAustria Y European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 four to ten of them will go on to some sort ofrelatedemployment,”saysMsUnger.four totenofthemwillgoonsomesort ses comefromdifficultsocialbackgrounds.Butoutofapossible trainingcoursefor16, inourcour- encounter duringtheirfuturecareers.“Manyofthewomen whotakepart andassistanceonpsycho-social issuesthattheyoungwomenmight selling, information have thoughtofbefore.Mafaldatakesaholisticapproach totraining,providingcoun- possible careerpaths,aswellencouragingthemtoconsiderjobsthattheymightnot girlsabout For the13to15agegroup,someofprojectsvisitschoolsandinform Breaking genderstereotyping says MsUnger. “Throughournetworks,Mafaldacangivethemahelpinghand.” “Women herehavealwayshadmoredifficultythanboysinfindingapprenticeships,” infindingtraineeshipsenterprises. addition, theyarenowassistingparticipants T activities torunnewprojects,suchasGirlscrackITandMuT!(Mädchenund Wi Elke Unger, aMafaldaprojectcoordinator. us throughthisavenueareunemployed,andneedtoraisetheirlevelofskills,”says practical Mafalda-runcoursesthatmightbenefitthem.“Manyofthewomenwhojoin tion withthenationalofficeofemploymentadvisingwomenoncareeroptionsand 13 and22.Fortheolderagebracket,15to22,organisationworksincoopera- Specifically, theproject’s targetgroupisgirlsandyoungwomenbetween theagesof Advice oncareeroptions tronics, ITandwoodwork. ses toenableyoungwomengainexperiencein“malemétiers”likemetalwork,elec- by ESF, toimprovethissituationbyestablishingasetofpracticalcour- wassetuptotry years ago,theAustrianorganisationMafalda,someofwhoseprojectsarepart-funded nue toavoidcareersinprofessionsthatarecommonlydominatedbymen.About15 Through apossiblelackofawarenessand/orsocialprejudice,Europeanwomenconti- in theproject'sactivitieseachyear. scheme hasbeenrunningfor15years,andsome2,500girlstakepart ing coursesandapprenticeshipsintraditionallymaleprofessions.The young women,aninnovativeprojectinAustriaisofferingaccesstotrain- In abidtobreakgenderstereotypingandreduceunemploymentamong echnik/Girls andTechnology), coursesintechnology. whichincludeintroductory In oung womenbreakthegender th theincreasinggrowthofITandtechnology, theorganisationhasbroadened its W ritten in July2004–project reference: E6-AT1

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Flora: womenworkingtogethertodeveloptheircapacities www.florainfo.be W [email protected] E-mail +32 22038098 Fax +32 22051750 T Brussels 1030 Rue duProgrès333/8 Address Anne Snick Contact Name FLORA organisation Name ofcoordinating W Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Belgium Country W ESF PriorityArea April 2001–December2003 Project duration Jobcoaching Project name elephone otal Funding 619,682 304,561 omen omen’s participation ebsite r get Group sustainable jobs Coaching tosupport European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 integration, andtohelpemployers takeonthisrolewithnewemployees. fore toincreaserecognitionof jobcoachingasastructuralapproachtolabourmarket lenges integratingintothelabour market.Theobjectiveofafollow-onprojectisthere- chal- approachtonewemployeesfacing particular to encourageamoresupportive led astrongneedtoworkmorecloselywithemployers break downstereotypesand coaches, butrathertocreateacultureshiftincompanies. Thispilotprojecthasrevea- objectiveoftheFloraprojectisnottocreateadependencyonjob- The long-term Promoting acultureshift newemployees. supporting employers havebeenwillingtotakerisksinrecruitment,knowing thereisajobcoach more ragement ofajobcoach,andabsenteeismhasbeenreduced. Furthermore, The resultshaveshownthatmorewomenpersistedwithajobduetotheencou- encourage anemployertooffermoreflexibleemploymentconditions.” totheirjobcoachinsuchasituation.Heorshecanhelpfindsolution turns who ismorelikelytotaketimeoffwork,”saysMs.Snick.“Very oftenanewemployee with work.Assoonasachildisill,ittendstobethewomanthattakeschargeand “By default,it’s thewomenthathavehardesttimeincombiningfamilycommitments employment, andone-thirdhavebeenworkingforthreemonthsormore. transferable totheBelgianlabourmarket.Approximatelyhalfhavefoundfull-time schoolingorimmigrantswhosequalificationsarenot women withlowlevelsofformal and BrusselsregionsofBelgiumhaveworkedwithalmost200people,mostthem Since theprojectwasestablishedinApril2001,jobcoachesFlemish,Walloon months afterrecruitment.” employee andemployeraddresstheproblemsthatcomeupduringthosecriticalfirst organisation (NGO)responsiblefortheproject.“Ajobcoachistheretohelp after afewdays,”saysAnneSnickdirectorofFlora,theBelgiannon-governmental “Often thecultureofacompanyissodifficulttocopewiththatnewrecruitgivesup Coping inanewenvironment leave themandtheiremployeronown. accompanyanindividualtothepointatwhichtheyarerecruited,andthen services Traditionalnot onlytoobtainajob,butalsoretainitinthelongerterm. employment Many peoplefacingmarginalisationordiscriminationinthejobmarketfinditdifficult first monthsofwork. recruitment andprovidejobcoachingtohelpovercomeproblemsinthe trainingand schooling,theorganisationssupport with littleornoformal ‘jobcoaching’.Workingto employmentsupport: primarilywithwomen In Belgium,anetworkoforganisationshasbeentestingnewapproach W ritten in January 2004-project reference:E1-BE1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market more aboutIT High-street computerfitnesscentresallowwomentolearn www.zfw.de www.equal-it-y.de W [email protected] E-mail +49 69-970723-44 Fax +49 69-970723-20 T amMain D-60487 Frankfurt Elbinger Strasse5 Address Barbara Wagner Contact name Zentrum fürWeiterbildung organisation Name ofcoordinating W Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Germany Country Employability/Equal opportunities ESF priorityarea May 2002-June2005 Project duration Equal-IT-y Society intheInformation Project name elephone otal funding 5,093,938.45 2,243,685.41 omen/Young people ebsite r get group attitudes towardstechnology Equal-IT-y: Changingwomen’s European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 over therunningofscheme oncetheEQUALfundingstopsin2005.” our regionalnetwork.AndnowtheLabourOfficehasexpressed aninterestintaking of forexample,hasjustbecome apartner University ofAppliedSciencesinFrankfurt, intheregionarecoming onboard-the hing too.“Moreandmoresocialpartners isflouris- Not onlydothewomenseemtobeenjoyingcourses, but thepartnership behave whentalkingabouttechnologywithmen.Itallhelps tochangeattitudes.” “It revealsalotabouthowwomenperceivethemselves,and howtheythinkshould a shop’,andwethenreflectdiscussonhowtheywent aboutit,”saysMsWagner. roles,like‘buying acomputerin and womenwhoattendareaskedtoactoutcertain Another popularinitiativehasbeentherunningoftheatreworkshopsonIT. “Thegirls Breaking stereotypicalfemalebehaviour rent recessionmakesitmoredifficultastherearefewerjobsonoffer,” sheadds. districts,thisfigurecanbeashigh80%to90%.But the cur- workplace. “Incertain havegoneontousetheirnewskillsinthe average, some40%to60%ofparticipants made courselastinganythingfromfourweekstothreemonths,”saysMsWagner. On isgivenapersonalprofileandtailor- to theprojectbyLabourOffice.“Everyone Many ofthewomenwhocometocentresareunemployedandhavebeenreferred technology.”information tobuilduptheirskillsin club, wedeveloppersonaltrainingschemesforparticipants cessful initiativeshasbeenits‘high-street’computerfitnesscentreswhere,likeasports Says Equal-IT-y projectdirectorBarbaraWagner: “Oneofthepartnership’s mostsuc- technology.women andschoolgirlsoninformation Region -wheredemandforITskillsisrelativelyhighthatofferadviceandtrainingto To T alike. ness andgovernment tobusi- lack offemaleinterestandrepresentationintheITfieldisgrowingconcern ITandmultimediasectorsisincreasing,this intheservice, of employmentopportunities at23%andthenumberoffemaleITstudents10%.Giventhat Germany (Women Society)putsthenumberoffemalecomputerspecialistsin intheInformation groupFraueninderInformationsgesellschaft bytheexpert A recentunpublishedsurvey Germany.western Severalhundredwomenhavealreadytakenpart. technologyinapositivelightbyanEQUALprojectsouth- information of thewayswomenandgirlsarebeingencouragedtolookatcareersin Theatre role-playandhigh-streetcomputer“fitnesscentres”arejustsome raining centresinlatestITskills

address theimbalance,Equal-IT-y has setupseveralinitiativesintheRhine-Main W ritten in September2004 –projectreference: E10-DE4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market learns moreaboutgenderissues learns Equality intheclassroom:aschoolonDonousaisland www.kethi.gr W [email protected] E-mail +30 2103898079 Fax +30 2103898000 T GR- 10681Athens Ch. Trikoupi str, 51&Valtetsiou str. Address Katsamagou Mary Contact name Equality Research CentreforGender organisation Name ofcoordinating W Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Greece Country W ESF priorityarea July 2002-December2006 Project duration gender equalityineducation strategiestopromote intervention T Project name eachers’ awarenessraisingand elephone otal funding 25,000,000 18,750,000 omen omen’s participation ebsite r get group schools Promoting genderequalityinGreek European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 support theprojectactivities andencourageteacherstouseICTs.support andcooperationsystemthatwill being produced,inadditiontoadistancelearning Educational materialsthathelpteacherstoapproachthe topic ofgenderequalityare over 3,500schools. the courseofproject,morethan700suchcollaborations willbesetupinvolving teaching topicsandstyles,oractivitiesoutsidetheofficial teaching programme.Over programme”.Thismayinvolveinnovative implement theirownsocalled“intervention T Practical intervention programme. Theprojectaimstotrainsome7,500teachersbytheendof2006. equalities intheeducationsystem,andtohelpthemintroducetopicintoschool inaspecifictrainingdesignedtoraisetheirawarenessofgender in- have participated So far, schoolsandvocationaltrainingcolleges some2,000teachersfromsecondary on thestudents’familiesandmembersoflocalcommunity.” Centre forGenderEquality(KETHI).“We expectthiswillalsohaveaknock-oneffect stereotypes,” saysKonstantinaPetridou,coordinatoroftheprojectinResearch tures andsoon,todeveloptheircapacitythinkcriticallychallengethe socialstruc- through themedia,schoolbooks,traditionalpaternalistic “We wanttoraisestudents’consciousnessofhowgenderidentitiesarereinforced Recognising andchallenginginequality training colleges–asameansofsensitisingwidersocietytogenderissues. society. schoolsandvocational Ittargetstheeducationsystem–notablysecondary attitudesthatperpetuateinequalitiesinGreek gender stereotypesanddiscriminatory aimstochallenge bytheESFandnationalgovernment, A four-year project,supported ofgendersegregationremain. for menin2001–and,education,strongpatterns of womenaged15to64isstillfarlowerthanthatmen-43%compared72% Theemploymentrate tion isanongoingpoliticalobjectiveoftheGreekGovernment. Giving menandwomenanequalchancetosucceedinthejobmarketeduca- and vocationalcolleges. schools cation system.Theprogrammeinvolvessome3,500secondary attitudesthatstillpersistinthecountry’s labourmarketandedu- natory their studentstochallengegenderstereotypes,inequalitiesanddiscrimi- T rained teachersfromgroupsoffiveormoreschoolsthencometogethertodesignand eachers fromacrossGreecearebeingtrainedonhowtoencourage W ritten in September2004 –projectreference: E9-GR3

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market placement A studentteststhecommunicationsysteminhertraining www.tak.fi W [email protected] E-mail +358 32361390 Fax +358 32361111 T 33820 Tampere Kurssikeskuksenkatu, 11 Address Lasse Lehtonen Contact name Education Centre T organisation Name ofcoordinating Unemployed women Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Finland Country W ESF priorityarea November 2002–April2004 Project duration Electrical engineeringforwomen Project name ampere Vocational Adult elephone otal funding 245,090 98,036 omen's participation ebsite r get group W European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 deficit overthenextfiveyears,”saysMrLehtonen. inFinlandbecausewehavetofindwaysofsolving ouremployment mely important women arefindingiteasiertoaccesseducationinelectrical engineering.“Thisisextre- male occupations.Moreelectriciancompaniesarenowwilling toemploywomenand toshowthatwomenaresuitableemployeesin typically The projecthasalsoserved buildings.” For example,womenoftenspecialiseintheinstallationof communicationsystemsin good electriciansbecauseoftheirattentiontodetail,care andconscientiousness. project coordinatoratTampere AdultEducationCentre.“Theyfeltthatwomenmake “We positivefeedbackfromthecompaniesinvolved,”saysLasseLehtonen, hadvery W Eleven arenowemployed.Threewomendroppedoutoverthecourseofproject. In April2004,12womencompletedtheirstudiesandwerequalifiedaselectricians. ger, thecompanyrepresentativesandstudentsthemselves. companies involved.Theirworktasksweredesignatedtogetherwiththeprojectmana- aperiodof on-the-jobtraininginoneofthe studentwasabletoundertake ce. Every andpracti- The programme,whichlasted18months,wassplit50:50betweentheory andpractice Balancing theory in theprogramme,ofwhich15wereselected. women whowantedtobecomeelectricians.Some60appliedparticipate close cooperationwithelectricalinstallationcompanies.Itwastargetedatunemployed The project“Electricalengineeringforwomen”developedanewstudyprogrammein improve itsimageandattractworkersfrombothsexes. of electriciansarewomen.To thattheprofession meetfutureneeds,itisimportant ithasalwaysbeenconsideredamaleoccupation–only1% sically tough.Furthermore, years. Theprofessionisoftenconsideredtoofferpoorworkingconditionsandbephy- ofelectriciansinafew If recenttrendscontinue,Finlandislikelytofaceashortage in thesector. energy technology. Ofthe12recentgraduates,11arenowemployed Centre rananationalstudyprogrammeinelectricalengineeringand ce andinstallation.Incooperationwithelectriciancompanies,the women breakintothetraditionallymaledomainofelectricalmaintenan- The Tampere AdultEducationCentreinsouth-westFinlandishelping of thefuture omen arewellsuitedtotheprofession omen electricians:theface W ritten in October2004 –projectreference: E11-FI5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market private life W omen expresstheirdifficultiesinbalancingworkwith [email protected] E-mail + 33563368701 T 81400 Carmaux 2 rueduMoulin, Address Christian Bruhat Contact name Association duSegalaTarn organisation Name ofcoordinating Unemployed women Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding France Country W ESF priorityarea 2001-2004 Project duration region Development intheNordduTarn andLocal Equal Opportunities Project name elephone otal funding 808,405 404,200 omen's participation r get group workplaces Creating moreflexibleandequal European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 and fundingoftheprojectinsecondhalf2004. willtakeovertherunning comprising severalpresentprojectpartners, A partnership, sonal workinthearea. dren’s crèchesystemthatshouldgivegreaterflexibility topeopleseekingshiftorsea- regional business;oncefinished,itwillbeusedasabasis forlaunchinganewchil- the moment,projectiscompilingastudyonworkhours versus‘home-lifehours’in ofthe workisgettingtheemployersonboard,”saysMr.“The hardestpart Bruhat.At Improving conditionsintheworkplace end, suchchangeswillonlymakeaworkforcemoreproductive,”saysMr. Bruhat. how todevelopnewpracticesinthecompaniesthatfacilitategenderequality. Inthe with work,waysofdevelopingappropriatepaymentschemestoencouragethis,and and runseminarstomakeemployersthinkabouttheproblemsofbalancingafamily ment oftheregiontopromotegenderequalitygenerally. “We’ve contactedcompanies involvedintheeconomicdevelop- The projecthasalsosetaboutmobilisingpartners balanced better, oftenthroughabetterdivisionofdomestictasksathome.” culties, andforustoshowthemwaysinwhichprofessionaldomesticlifecanbe anddiffi- toallowwomenexpresstheirconcerns – photo exhibitions,forexample it canbestressful.That’s whywe’vebeenrunningactivities–videoscreeningsand tofindworkandlookafterafamilyatthesametime, Bruhat. “Whenapersonistrying “61% oftheregion’s 12%unemployedarewomen,”saysprojectcoordinatorChristian Balancing workandhomelife been thehardesthit. Although alljobseekersintheregionarefindingithardertofindwork,womenhave social workinghours,andarethereforefindingitdifficulttoattractemployees. to boosttheeconomy, oftenhaveanti- suchascallcentresandhome-helpservices, has resultedinincreasingjobinsecurity. industriescreatedinrecentyears Theservice and employmentstability. Butinrecentyearstheareahassufferedarecessionthat Inthepast,workershaveenjoyedrelativelyhighsalaries trade unionparticipation. of mining areawitharichhistory inthesouth-westofFrance,isaformer Carmausin, awareness-raising activitiesorganisedbythegroup. flexible workingpractices.Sofar, 300peoplehavebenefitedfromthe work commitments,andtoencouragelocalcompaniesintroducemore employees andjobseekerswithfamiliesreconciletheirprivatelives inFranceisworkingonwaystohelpfemale A socialpartnership W ritten in September2004 –projectreference: E13-FR4

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market ce theirITskills A drop-incomputersuiteofferswomenthechancetopracti- www.fed.lu W [email protected] E-mail +352-408769 Fax +352-407151-1 T 16, ruedeReims,L-2417 Address Gaby Heintz Contact name NAXI -FemmesenDétresseasbl organisation Name ofcoordinating Unemployed women Ta Objective 3 ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Luxembourg Country W ESF priorityarea 2000-December2004 January Project duration gration andtrainingofwomen NAXI -Centreforprofessionalinte- Project name elephone otal funding 2,340,569 1,053,256 omen’s participation ebsite r get group unemployed women Professional trainingfor European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 with government support.” with government “We hopetheyachievenational recognitionsothattheycancontinuebeyond2004 “The ESFprojecthasproventheeffectivenessofourtraining courses,”saysMs.Heintz. entered anothertrainingcourse.Theremainderareactively seekingwork. have havegoneontofindwork,while25% in2003,40% Of the89participants Stepping-stone tothefuture factorinfinding andkeepingajob.” important and motivationinallourcourses,becausewe’vefoundthat self-imageisoftenthemost than theory,” saysMs.Heintz.“We’ve alsointegratedtraininginpersonaldevelopment “Our workshopsinwashing,ironingandsewingfocusonpracticalexperiencerather hadleftschoolattheminimumage. ofparticipants origin. Some25% a trainingcourse,roughlyhalfofthemfromLuxemburgandtheremainderimmigrant The programmehasbeenrunningsince2000.In2003,some89womencompleted pants whocanbarelyreadorwrite.” aren’t recognised hereinLuxembourgsotheycometous.Butwehaveotherpartici- cation levels.Forexample,someimmigrantsarehighlyeducatedbuttheirqualifications differentedu- Heintz, projectmanagerinNAXI.“Itmeanswehavetodealwithvery inourcourses,”saysGaby “Any womanwhoisregisteredunemployedcanparticipate ironing andsewing. education,specialistworkshopsareofferedinwashing, women withlittleornoformal andIT;care, cateringservices aswellcoursesingenericprofessionalskills.For ning coursesinanumberofspecialisedareas:carefortheelderlyordisabled,child- NAXI ishelpingwomentaketheirfirststepstoaccessthejobmarket.Theyoffertrai- Upgrading professional skills sation, moreandwomenarelookingtogetbackintoprofessionallife. gle womenandsinglemothersissteadilyincreasing–orsimplyadesireforself-reali- Nonetheless, therearesignsofchange.Drivenbyeconomicreality–thenumbersin- women asthe‘homemakers’stillholdsstronginmuchofLuxembourgsociety. still seemout-of-reach.Thetraditionalfamilymodelofmenasthe‘providers’and For manywomeninLuxembourg,financialindependenceandaprofessionalcareer professional career. tothelabourmarketforwomenwantingdeveloptheir point ofentry multi-annual programmeofprofessionaltraining.Thecoursesofferafirst NAXI, anationalinstitutionforwomeninLuxembourg,hasdeveloped W ritten in April2004–project reference: E5-LU2

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Combining workandfamilylife www.evenwicht.info W [email protected] E-mail +31 (0)464208085 Fax +31 (0)464208005 T 6135 KWSittard Mercator 1 Address Simone Seelen Contact Name Symbiose organisation Name ofcoordinating Employers andEmployees Ta EQUAL ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding The Netherlands Country W ESF PriorityArea 2005) (possible 6monthextensiontoApril 2002-November2004 February Project duration Balance Project name elephone otal Funding 465,500 232,750 omen’s participation ebsite r get Group Informed employees Responsible employers: European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 been selected among well-known people from government andbusinesses. been selectedamongwell-known peoplefromgovernment be producedlaterin2004.Inaddition,anumberof‘ambassadors forthecause’have Business conferenceshavebeenorganisedtopromotebest practiceandaCD-Romwill balance andthedangersofwork-relatedstressisanother keyareaoftheproject. Getting themessageacrossaboutmeasuresthatcanbetaken toimprovethework-life Ambassadors forthecause tify andimplementsolutionstoexistingtensionsinwork-life balanceamongstaff. bottlenecks. In2004,theprojectwillworkwithemployees andemployerstoiden- provideeachorganisation withadetailedanalysisofgoodpracticeand The surveys “It’s clearthatthereisstillalotofworktodo.” ‘I havenotimetomyselfandI’mgettingmorestressed,’”saysMsSeelen. can’t findasolutionfortheschoolholidays’,‘HowdoI manage whenmychildissick?’ difficultiesincombiningfamilyandworklife,such as:‘I “Several respondentsreported members. employment rights-forexample,howmuchtimetheycouldtakeofftocarefamily Nonetheless, theresultsrevealedareallackofawarenessamongstaffabouttheir environmentwithintheworkplace. employees werepositiveaboutthesupportive case toidentifythemainproblemareas.Inbothsocialandwelfareorganisations, ineach usedanemployeesurvey welfare andbusinesssectors.Theprojectpartners So fartheprojecthasfocusedonpilotstudiesofthreeorganisationsinsocialcare, Employee reflections and employerscanreducepersonnelturnover. life. Bydoingso,morewomenarelikelytotakeupjobs,absenteeismwillbereduced viour orworkingstructurestoencourageabetterbalancebetweenworkandprivate The aimofthisprojectisthereforetohelpemployersandemployeeschangetheirbeha- singly askedtoadoptpreventativemeasuresprotectthehealthoftheiremployees.” Secondly, theincidenceofwork-relatedstressisescalating,andmanagersareincrea- ting inthelabourmarketbecauseofdifficultiescombiningworkandfamilylife. ofwomennotparticipa- kers intheNetherlands.Butwealsohavealargeproportion dinator ofthisEQUALproject.“Firstly, ofcarewor- wewereexperiencingashortage “Two upthisproject,”explainsSimoneSeelen,coor- issuesledtoourdecisionstart and employeesinthecarewelfaresectors. an EQUALprojectistacklingtheissuebyworkingdirectlywithemployers gest challengesamongtoday’s workingpopulation.IntheNetherlands, Finding therightbalancebetweenworkandprivatelifeisoneofbig- W ritten in January 2004-project reference:E3-NL1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Children try outthepedagogicalgamesinalocalschool Children try [email protected] E-mail +351 275314156 Fax +351 275322079 T P-6200-297 Covilhã Lote 24-LojaEsquerdaBoidobra, Urbanisacao QuintadaAlimpada, Address Graça MariaRojão Contact name Integrado do DesenvolvimentoRural Beira Serra-AssociacaoPromotora organisation Name ofcoordinating W Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype € T € ESF funding Portugal Country W ESF priorityarea November 2001–December2004 Project duration ciliation ofworkandfamilylife ConVidas –Promotingtherecon- Project name elephone otal funding 639,557 479,668 omen omen’s participation r get group commitments Combining workwithfamily European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 ments.” eachotherinmanaging familyandworkcommit- lising thecommunitytosupport tant socialissue,”saysMsRojão.“Butwe’vealsodelivered concretebenefitsbymobi- “Our biggestimpacthasbeenonincreasingthevisibilityand debateaboutthisimpor- sensitise childrentothemoreequitablesharingofhomeand familyresponsibilities. localschoolshavebeengiventwopedagogicalgamesdesignedtohelp Furthermore, aboutgoodpractice andlegislationinthisarena. disseminate information will continuetoawardanannualprizeforthebestcompany inreconciliation,andto The EnterpriseAssociationhashelpedtotargetcompanies. Aftertheprojectendsthey sustainability.ensure itslong-term elderly, 21%childrenand18%disabled.Itiscoordinatedentirelybylocalactorsto toover500people,61%ofthem 89 volunteersandhasalreadyprovidedsupport whichnowhassome networkforfamilysupport One ofitskeyinitiativesisavoluntary Mobilising localvolunteers and womeninthehomecommunity. ness amongemployees,andchangingattitudeswithinsocietyabouttherolesofmen raisingaware- tofamilies,improvingtheflexibilityofexistingservices, practical support The project,ConVidas, hascarriedoutawiderangeofactivitiesaimedatoffering to bequiteinsensitivethedifficultiesofreconcilingfamilyandworkinglife.” of BeiraSerra,theassociationcoordinatingEQUALproject.“Companiesalsoseem waiting listsforresidentialcaretheelderly,” saysGraçaMariaRojão,coordinator noplannedactivitiesforchildrenduringtheholidays,and long under threes,virtually “Our needsanalysisshowedthatthereisareallackofaccessiblechildcareforthe ofdemand fallshort Services relatively lowwages. schedules andearning structurestomeettheneedsofemployeesondifferentworking ible familysupport make upalmosthalfofthelabourforce.Asaresult,thereisstrongdemandforflex- tion areemployedinindustry, includingtextiles,metalworksandcarpentry. Women Covilhã stillmaintainsitsstrongindustrialtradition.Around50%oftheactivepopula- toworkingparentsandcarers. viding muchneededsupport project, ConVidas, isbeginningtochangetheseattitudes,whilealsopro- householdtasksthanmen.TheEQUAL for familymembersandperform the homeislessequallybalanced,withwomenstillmorelikelytocare women makeup41%ofthelabourmarket.Butdivisionin – In theCovilhãmunicipality–anindustrialregionincentralPortugal W ritten in September2004 -projectreference: E8-PT5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market An ICTtrainingcourseforwomeninGuipuzkoa www.gipuzkoa.net/ikasmina W [email protected] E-mail +34 943482216 Fax +34 943482216 T 20 004Donostia Plaza deGipuzkoas/n Address Joseba Amondarain Contact Name Diputación ForaldeGipuzkoa organisation Name ofcoordinating Unemployed women Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType € T € ESF Funding Spain Country W ESF PriorityArea November 2001-July2003 Project duration labour market W Project name elephone otal Funding 3,350,000 1,340,000 omen’s participation inthe omen's participation ebsite r get Group into workintheBasquecountry Getting women European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 accounts’ to active citizenship and participation in localcommunities. accounts’ toactivecitizenship andparticipation Council ofGuipuzkoaplans to launchanewschemeadaptingthemodelof‘learning ThissummertheProvincial andemploymentsupport. the fieldsoflifelonglearning fromthisinitiativewill feedintofuturepoliciesandprogrammesin The lessonslearnt education centres. over300peoplewereinvolvedindeliveringICTtrainingacross39local Furthermore, went on tofindajob. Around 65percentofthe3,200womenthattookpart working options,sothatwomencouldcombinetheirjobwith familyobligations. other hand,employerswereencouragedtooffermoreflexible workinghoursortele- attention wasgiventoensuringthatthetrainingmatchedemployers'needs.On the women’s associationsandEMAKUNDE(theBasqueWomen’s Institute).Particular inthedesignandconceptionstage,represented through Unemployed womentookpart approach Participatory work placementsorjobsafterthetraining. totheinitiative.Around450privatecompaniesassistedschemeby offering port de Euskadi’publicisedthetrainingprogrammeandbankalsogavefinancialsup- The involvementoftheprivatesectorwasalsonew. Localbranchesofthe‘CajaLaboral sibility insettingandachievingindividualtraininggoals.” their personaltrainingprogramme.Itgivesthemmuchgreaterownershipandrespon- appliesforcreditstopay accounts’–wherebyeachparticipant tem of‘learning ject coordinatorintheProvincialCouncilofGuipuzkoa.“Forexample,wesetupasys- “There areseveralinnovativeaspectstothisinitiative,”saysJosebaAmondarain,pro- Individual learningaccounts employment, butalsoonfutureactivelabourmarketpolicies. of Spainpromisestohaveafar-reaching impact,notonlyonwomen’s levelsof throughtheESFOperationalProgrammeinBasque region An initiativesupported work. limitwomen’sfurther accesstojobs,asitisdifficultkeepskillsupdatedwhileoutof andcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs)increasing relianceoninformation threatensto W subsequently foundemployment. intheinitiativeand65percenthave 3,200 womenhaveparticipated andworkplacements.Some andjobsearchsupport, ning, information female unemployment,throughacombinationofpersonalisedICTtrai- istacklingthepersistentchallengeof The Basqueregionalgovernment omen havetraditionallybeenlesswellrepresentedinthejobmarketthanmen.The W ritten in February 2004–project reference:E4-ES4 ritten in February

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market by theEQUALtransnationalpartnership ofatoolkitbeing prepared A bookonstereotypesispart www.equalx.se W [email protected] E-mail +46 26177331 Fax +46 26651130 T S-80170 Gävle Address Birgitta Keller Contact name Länsstyrelsen Gävleborg organisation Name ofcoordinating Decision makers Ta EQUAL ESF fundingtype ( SEK 20,330,000 T ( SEK 9,000,000 ESF funding Sweden Country W ESF priorityarea June 2002-2005 Project duration forEquality Partnership Project name € € elephone otal funding omen’s participation 2,202,353) 974,828) ebsite r get group T European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 enough skilledemployees,”says MsKeller. women itwillmissoutonahuge potentialresource,andsimplywon’t be abletorecruit isrealisingthatifitdoesn’t target by theCEOandothertopexecutives. “Industry and aprojectpartner. Theyorganisedalargeconferenceongenderequality, attended One suchinitiativewastakenbySandvikAB,amultinational engineeringcompany asaresult.” initiatives havestarted Ms Keller. “Theyarealltalkingabouttheissueat workandathome,manyother “We havesome100peopleinvolved inourprojectfromallacrossthecounty,” says The multipliereffect making afilmongenderstereotypes. such asdoctors,teachersandhealthcareprofessionals.Anotherworkinggroupis Special focusgroupsarealsodevelopingtrainingtargetedatdifferentprofessions, reflection tohelpthemunderstandhowtheyadopttraditionalstereotypes. throughaprocessofinternal behindthestatistics–andthentakesparticipants history byprovidingthefacts– trainingprogramme. It starts inanintroductory participated Several toolsarebeingdevelopedtoreachthisgoal.Some250peoplehavealready changesinbehaviourandattitudes.” term amovement,”saysMsKeller.want tostart “Thisprojectisjustthebeginningoflong- politicians, teachers,employmentadvisers,executivesandrecruitmentagencies.“We them takeaction.Keyactorsarethosethathaveawidesphereofinfluencesuchas The projectaimstopersuadekeyactorsthatthissituationneedschangeandhelp A catalystforchange contrast, employsmainlywomen.” women intheseindustriesandtheprivatesectorgeneral.Thepublicsector, by werethemainemployersinregion.Menfaroutnumber andforestry steel industry Keller, projectcoordinatorintheGävleborgcountyadministration.“Historically “We rank20thamongSweden’s ofgenderequality,” 21countiesinterms saysBirgitta Gävleborg. trueforthecountyof gender segregationinthelabourmarket.Thisisparticularly therearecontinuinginequalitiesand gender-neutral societies.Butbeneaththesurface Among theEUMemberStates,Swedenisperhapsknownashavingoneofmost other toolstoraiseawarenessandchangebehaviour. sector andacademia,theprojectisdevelopingtrainingprogrammes fromallthelocalmunicipalities,countycouncil,private partners the rolesofwomenandmeninlabourmarketsociety. Involving The countyofGävleborginSwedenischallengingage-oldbeliefsabout oolkits forgenderequality W ritten in August2004 – projectreference: E7-SE5

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market Former trainee,Liz,enjoyinghersuccess Former www.ewtc.co.uk W [email protected] E-mail +44 (0)1315544645 Fax +44 (0)1315545656 T Edinburgh EH66BZ 121 GilesStreet, Address Fiona Keddie Contact Name Nisus Scotland organisation Name ofcoordinating W Ta Objective 3 ESF FundingType ( £607,821 T ( £210,000 ESF Funding United Kingdom Country W ESF PriorityArea July 2000–June2003 Project duration training course Edinburgh women’s Project name € € elephone otal Funding omen omen’s participation 875,262) 301,812) ebsite r get Group in Scotland A launchpadforemployment European SocialFundinaction2000-2006 week asanITtraineronthis year’s Women’s Course. Liz isnowworkingtowards an ITTraining qualificationandvolunteering onedaya number ofqualificationsshe achieved whilecopingwithsignificanthealthproblems. course, wasawarded‘Learndirect’s PersonalAchieveroftheYear’ inrecognition ofthe ding tomanypersonalsuccessstories.Forexample,Liz,a graduateofthe2002-2003 inthecoursesinceitbegan17yearsago,lea- Almost 500womenhaveparticipated High Achievers skills learnt. toimplementthe placement completesthecourse,providingapracticalopportunity well astrainingincommunicationskillsandpersonaleffectiveness. A10-weekwork Computer SocietyintheUK.Careersguidanceisprovided throughoutthecourse,as License –aEurope-widequalificationinITliteracyadministered throughtheBritish recognised bytheScottishQualificationAuthorityandEuropeanComputerDriving The courseoffersdifferenttrainingmodulesleadingtoup14qualifications we’ve alsointroducedqualificationsinhardwareandmultimedia.” we switchedjusttocomputingreflectdemandandemploymenttrends.Recently nator ofthewomen’s withelectronicsandcomputing but course.“Initiallywestarted “The coursehasevolvedconsiderablyovertheyears,”explainsFionaKeddie,coordi- childcare andtravelexpensestomaximiseitsaccessibility. towork.Thecourseisfreeofchargeandassistanceprovidedfor women returning unemployed orincasuallowpaidwork.Manystudentsaresingleparents,older Candidates mustliveinEdinburgh,havelow, nooroutdatedqualifications,andbe The courseisinhighdemand:around100womenapplyeachyearforjust30places. Beneficiaries arecarefullytargeted Edinburgh’s Telford College. ject throughtheEuropeanSocialFundandCityofEdinburghCouncil forthispro- work andbuildingself-confidencehasensuredcontinuedfinancialsupport EWTC hasbeenrunningsince1988.Itsproventrackrecordingettingwomenbackto goals. women thetechnicalandprofessionalskillsself-confidencetofulfiltheirpersonal Edinburgh women’s trainingcourse(EWTC)hasdevelopedaprogrammethatgives immigrant womenespecially, arenotrecognisedbytheScottishjobmarket.The challengeformanywomen.Oftenqualificationsareoutdatedor,insurmountable for toworkafterabreak,orcombiningwithchildcare,canseembean Returning doors toabetterfuture. tion. Forwomenwithno,few, orunrecognisedqualifications,itopens course findemployment,becomeself-employedorgointohighereduca- Some 75percentofgraduatesfromtheEdinburghwomen’s training W ritten in January 2004-project reference:E2-UK1 ritten in January

Women's participation Adaptability Lifelong learning Social inclusion Active labour market This publication is only available in English.

The publication of these ESF success stories was financed and prepared for the website of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, under contract no. VC/2003/0385.

Their content reflects the opinions of their authors only and does not necessarily represent the official position of the European Commission.

The individual success stories can also be accessed online in English, French and German at following Web addresses: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2004/jan/esf_in_action_en.html http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2004/jan/esf_in_action_fr.html http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2004/jan/esf_in_action_de.html

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