The project funded by the European Commission, aims to identify new professional opportunities for young, unemployed graduates within the social sector, and to contribute to the exchange of good practices among partner regions from Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Romania. The project period is settled from 23rd of January 2013 to 23rd of January 2014.
Nowadays, it is very difficult for young graduates to enter the labour market, there are plenty skilled young professionals without workplaces, or underpaid after graduation. Therefore, the objectives of the project are to identify new training paths; to fill the gap of competences of professional profiles; to establish a mutual knowledge and experience exchange among partner regions, and last but not least to give suggestions for new regional policies in the field of social cooperation and youth.
The target groups of the project are young graduates, especially girls with humanistic degree and traditionally linked to social sector; social actors and stakeholders (government bodies, training structures, social cooperatives and associations); operators and managers of social cooperatives, and non-governmental organizations.
The aim of the project is to contribute to the development of each partner regions’ local policies concerning job opportunities for young graduates in the social sector, as well as to provide guidelines and drafts of training plans to cover the skill gaps identified on the social sector’s market.
In order to achieve the project goals, all the partners have conducted a survey in each country with the aim of identifying the needs of the social sector and the missing professional roles for improving the social sector services as well as skills and competences which are necessary for the new professionals, required on the labor market. In addition, five study tours were also organized, one in each partner country, in order to exchange good practices between partners and stakeholders; to understand how similar regions are facing the challenge of job opportunities in the social sector and how these practices can be transferred; to investigate which new career opportunities for young graduated men and women in the social sector exist, what role they can have in the social enterprises and what skills these profiles should have.
In order to disseminate the results of the project and to involve all local stakeholders, the final seminar and dissemination workshop within the framework of the project was held on 11th of December, in Harghita County. The project manager from Harghita County, Miss Tünde Gál presented the general aspects and conlusions of the project, followed by the expert of the project, Mr. Csaba-Levente Lőrincz, who related about the results of the survey conducted in Harghita County. The main problems identified in this regard were the following: lack of practical knowledge after graduation and insufficient cooperation between the goverment, local authorities, companies and civil sector. Also it was identified that there is a need to create the appropriate legal background.
Afterwards, Miss Boglárka Vajda, the manager of the Social Economy Incubator of Sfântu Gheorghe presented the objectives of the organization, followed by Mrs. Zoltán Elekes, the director of the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection, subordinated institution of Harghita County Council, who offered a presentation about their new project which aims to help people with disabilities to be employed on the open labor market.
At the end of the workshop, Mr. Csaba Borboly, president of Harghita County Council announced that as the result of the Progress project, next year there will be advertised a tender to help socially disabled local producers to get to the open market. In conclusion, the project is considered successful, and Harghita County Council looks forward to further similar collaboration opportunities for the county’s development and the increase of the life quality of the population.
Miercurea Ciuc, 11th of December 2013
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