On 3-4 March 2020, our organisation took part in a study tour in the framework of “The NEEDs of the NEETs – Cross-border generational research”.
The participating Hungarian professionals represented organisations such as the Hope for
Children Public Benefit Association, the Hungarian Association of Public Benefit
Organisations for the Unemployed, the National KID Association, the CSAT Association, the
Sociogramm KFT and the Revita Foundation.
During the two-day study tour, the invited experts were introduced to the Ability Work
programme, which provides job seekers with professional professional assistance to boost
their job retention and acquisition skills in a short period of only 3 months. The programme is
an effective tool not only for workers but also for employers as a supply of skilled workers.
Operating since 2018, Ability Work is a niche project based on Swiss good practices and two
decades of professional experience of its implementers. It aims to develop a method for the
intensive, in-practice development of target groups that are difficult to integrate into the
labour market (e.g. NEET young people).
The programme is currently developing the skills of 24 groups in three types of community
workshops: textile, handicraft and creative workshops). The programme is implemented in
Debrecen and Tetétlen, where we spent a day in each of the two cities to get acquainted with
the local characteristics and the practical operation of the programme.
As reported by the programme’s implementers, the Ablity Work programme involves the
input mapping and development of the following 10 key competences: responsibility,
performance, stress management, creativity, process understanding, conflict management,
critical competence, communication, adaptability, learning and cooperation.
The experience of the people living in the study visit sites is that there is a demand for labour,
but that young people are “unfit” for work: there are both educational (literacy, vocational
skills) and psychological reasons for this.
The identification of these competences will greatly help to orientate candidates in the labour
market in the direction best suited to them. Measurements confirm that 98% of programme
participants have identified the activities in which they are most successful. The mentors
involved in the project also said that, in addition to developing competences, it is equally
important to support participants’ mental support, develop emotional intelligence, praise, and
learn teamwork skills, in order to develop the human side of work.
As regards difficulties, there was talk of local disinterest: for example, some young people
would rather go to work in the community because they get paid more than if they had taken
part in the scholarship training. The fact that in the long term training can improve their
prospects of earning money is not taken into account by many.
There was also talk about the "floating" attitude of NEET youth, i.e. the phenomenon that,
due to the comfort factors created by parents (mama hotel phenomenon), young people are not
forced, even in their early 20s, to finally make an independent decision about their future and
their career choice. The emotional intelligence of the young people in training is also
developed, inter alia, to deal more effectively with such global negative social phenomena.
One of the specific target groups among the young people is mothers returning from maternity
leave, who are perceived as having a problem of over-anxiety about their children. They
organise their days around childcare and are unable to engage in training/work part-time. The
worsening of public safety has emerged as an explanatory factor for this problem.
Two difficulties were mentioned in relation to the sustainability of the programme: firstly, it is
more difficult each year to attract participants above the threshold level to build up the
numbers needed to start the groups. This is a particular problem in Tetétlen, where the take-up
is much lower than in Debrecen.
Another issue that needs long-term planning is the relationship with employers, getting them
interested in taking advantage of the potential of these courses. In this context, the
representative of Pact4Youth said that in order to bridge the gap between labour supply and
demand, they are working on an Integrated Platform, which could be adapted to other
countries in the future.
The study tour, which built on the Ablity Work programme, enabled professionals working
with young people to learn low-cost, effective techniques that they can successfully apply in
their daily work. We believe that not only the visitors to Debrecen and Tetétlen, but also our
hosts have been inspired and given new ideas for the future of the project.
At the end of the programme, the organisers of the study tour thanked the participants for their
participation and the useful ideas they had shared with them.
Source: https://www.pact4youth.hu/read_news/hu?newsId=5f59ebacaedfad0574f0f63a