(Project code No. EQ/2004/1130-16)
Target group:
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Long-term unemployed (unemployment record 2 years and more) not registered with labour exchange inhabitants of deprived areas among whom dominate - people over 45 and less than 25 years of age; women; ethnic minorities.
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Objectives:
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The overall goal of the project is to ensure equal employment opportunities for the long term unemployed from deprived areas through innovative employability competence building methods, strengthening social partnership and communities.
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Goals: |
- Set up effective and accessible computerized Employability Competence Network for deprived areas in Utenos County;
- Strengthen partnership between local government, employers, NGOs, research and adult training institutions, employers and communities;
- Formulate the concept of participatory community building, implement community building model (asset mapping) for deprived areas;
- Disseminate good practices of development partnership REGENERATION in Lithuania and across Europe.
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Innovation: |
- Process related innovations – for the first time in Lithuania Employability Competence Network will be developed based on innovative methodology for assessing supply of and demand for employability skills in deprived areas (Employability Capacity Tests; targeted survey of employers and long-term unemployed), innovative empowering modular training programmes, teaching aids (‘Essential Employability Skills’) and a counselling system for trainers, trainees, social workers, representatives of municipalities, NGOs, employers and communities. Community building model for deprived areas based on asset mapping and residents participation approach backed up by innovative methodology of sociological survey of inhabitants will be formulated and applied.
- Goals related innovations – for the first time in Lithuania new measures will be applied to integrate long-term unemployed (who are not registered with the labour exchange and do not seek job) into the labour market by strengthening partnership between employers and employees, local government and NGOs. Organisation “Job Fair” for inactive long-term unemployed together with social partners is also a new practice for Lithuania.
- Context orientated innovations – for the first time in Lithuania the local social partnership network will be developed to reduce multiply discrimination and inequality of long-term unemployed from deprived areas through community building model; new means and methods of dissemination of good practices and project results will be implemented/applied (on-line demonstration module “REGENERATION shares success”).
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Activities: |
- Set up effective and accessible computerized Employability Competence Network for deprived areas in Utenos County;
- Set up Employability Competence Network (ECN) for Utenos County based on innovative methodology of assessing supply of and demand for employability skills (Employability Capacity Tests; survey of employers), modular training programmes, system of consultations and teaching aids („Essential Employability Skills“) for trainers and trainees;
- Strengthen partnership between representatives of local government, employers, NGO‘s, research and adult training institutions, employers and communities;
- Formulate scenario and organise „Job Fair“;
- Formulate and apply community building model for deprived areas based on asset mapping and residents participation approach backed up by innovative methodology of sociological survey of inhabitants;
- Disseminate good practices and project results by means of on-line demonstration module “REGENERATION shares success“ and international conference „Regeneration of Deprived Areas Through Employability“.
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Planned results: |
- Concept, methodology and measures for combating discrimination of long-term unemployed from deprived areas on the labour market through building their employability competence;
- Accessible Employability Competence Network based on modular training programmes, teaching aids (‘Essential Employability Skills’) and a counselling system for trainers, trainees, social workers, representatives of municipalities, NGOs, employers and communities.
- Community building model for deprived areas.
- Principles and mechanisms of sustainable national/international development partnership between different social actors (representatives of the County administration and municipalities, community organisations, NGOs, employers, social workers, labour market training providers) for combating multiply discrimination on the labour market and integrating long-term unemployed into the labour market.
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| Prospective outcomes: |
- Innovative and accessible employability competence modular training and counselling will strengthen the basic and social skills of the long-term unemployed, and encourage them for an active job-seeking and life-long learning, and will induce their motivation and self-confidence.
- Representatives of the County administration and municipalities will acquire valuable experience in empowering groups of the population vulnerable to unemployment and in building sustainable social partnership aimed at combating discrimination and inequality on the labour market.
- Employers, participating in the activities of the project, will change the negative stereotypes towards long-term unemployed.
- Successful experience of REGENERATION partnership will encourage the other deprived areas of Lithuania and other EU countries to implement innovative employability and community building methods.
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| Prospective impact: |
The activities and experience of REGENERATION will have direct impact/influence for the concrete/specific instruments of social policy: - Administration of Utena County will have a possibility to apply across county innovative measures of regeneration of deprived areas, namely- strengthening employability competence, community building model for deprived areas, principles of social partnerships by including them into the Regional Development Plan for 2008-2010. Administration will benefit from transnational experience and good practices in the field of equal employment opportunities.
- Lithuanian Labour Market Training Authority will have an opportunity to integrate strengthening employability skills into the active labour market policy measures on the national level.
- The means for reducing discrimination and inequality will be included in the National Action Plan against poverty and social exclusion in 2008-2010.
Innovative measures for combating social exclusion of long-term unemployed have a potential to be applied in Lithuania and other EU countries. |
