A "network" of support” “

Two years dedicated to the establishment of networks for the support and promotion of youth employment, especially for young people in situations of difficulty and hardship: that’s the aim of the project in which a number of European associations and agencies are involved, including Ciofs-Fp (Salesian Sisters for Vocational Training) in Italy, public and private bodies of the Provence-Côte d’Azure Region in France, the Employment Training Centre in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, “Equal Leon Actua” in Spain, and “Meeting the Future” in Sweden. Providing young people with opportunities to learn skills and find jobs is a common commitment of this network, reaffirmed at its 4th meeting held in Rome in recent days on the theme “European Pathway to the future”. NETWORKING TO HELP THE YOUNG – “The objective is to develop innovative proposals for the professional and social insertion of young people at risk of exclusion. The method we have chosen is to set up a network among the numerous local, regional and national agencies involved in the project”: that’s how Sister Angela Elicio, of the Salesian Sisters for Vocational Training presented the philosophy of the project “European Pathway to the Future”, financed with funds allocated by the EU’s Equal project. Sister Angela, responsible for the project in Italy, coordinated the work of the meeting in Rome dedicated to “networking”; the delegates included exponents of the European “network” formed by France, Germany, Spain and Sweden. “The various ‘players’ of the network – explained Heiko Bennewitz, one of the project leaders in Germany – feel the need to have clear objectives, methods and tools, and to be able to manage a complex situation like that of offering employment opportunities to young people belonging to various target groups: adolescents and young adults up to the age of 27 with disadvantages and handicaps, immigrants, drug addicts, and school dropouts”. According to Roger Raybaud, of the regional Authority of Nice for ongoing training, “the facilities made available by the Equal project include a French internet site in which young people can enter their own personal data on their educational and professional qualifications, with a view to entering into the training and employment circuit. In this way networking communication becomes more rapid and effective”. SCHOOL AND WORK MUST COLLABORATE – In response to a jobless percentage in Europe that fluctuates between 6 and 10-11 percent, depending on country and socio-economic area (a percentage that could rise following EU enlargement, given that the new member countries have even higher rates of unemployment), “the experience of networking seems more than ever necessary – explained the Swedish delegate Jan Nilsson, mayor of Astorp, a town involved in the national project coordinated by Eva Sandel. “Our main objective – said Nilsson – is to prevent youngsters from abandoning school and eliminate the discrimination from which the weakest groups suffer in the world of work, by pooling the efforts of administrative agencies, schools, social and economic partners”. “We are focusing a great deal on interaction between schools and the world of work – added Sandel – through vocational training schemes, business certification systems, and company networks that sponsor the various projects”. A similar approach was described by Graciano Alvarez Fernandez, director general of ILDEFE, a public-private agency of the province of Leon in Spain that brings together some twenty different associations and groups, including the Spanish Catholic Association for Immigrants, associations for the handicapped, Chamber of Commerce, Caritas, trades unions and employers’ associations, universities, local banks, and the Association of Single Mothers”. “To young people in difficulty – said Fernandez – we want to offer a comprehensive counselling service, ranging from access to databases, to job applications, and public assistance”. NEW AND CREATIVE PLAYERS ARE NEEDED – The Italian expert Dario Ceccarelli, who presented an analysis of “networking” with a view to a more effective insertion of young people in the world of work – pointed out that, “where they exist, the role of social cooperatives and associations is shown to be positive: they are able to respond more effectively and rapidly to the employment needs of the more disadvantaged sectors”. According to Martina Hassel, mayor of the town of Bad Kreuznach, “what needs to be stimulated within the network projects for employment is the presence of political and industrial partners who really believe in them”. In the view of the Italian coordinator Sister Angela Elicio, “the experience of the network and coordination between network systems is producing good results and represents the most advanced system of its kind to show solidarity in a complex society like that of Europe”.