Newsroom

[editar plantilla]

With a 40% employment rate, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano shows that Roma youth unemployment can be beaten [editar]

FSG presents today in Madrid the results of 6 years of its Learning By Doing programme, a training and employment programme for young disadvantaged Roma

14/05/2019
FSG

SHARE
With a 40% employment rate, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano shows that Roma youth unemployment can be beaten
  • 2,580 young people have participated in the programme Learning By Doing during the 6 years it has been running. Of the 1,736 who completed the training, 691 found work, with contracts averaging 10 months in length.
  • The key of its success is an employment support plan that combines practical and theoretical training of several months in real working environments where 61 companies have participated in the 126 courses that have been organised in 41 cities of 14 Regions.
  • The results show that the labour inclusion of young Roma at risk of social exclusion is possible if specific measures are implemented to support those who have it more difficult.

Madrid, May 14, 2019.- The Fundación Secretariado Gitano has presented today in Madrid the successful results of its employment program for young people, Learning By Doing, a programme that, according to 87% of its participants, has managed to improve their lives, incresing their self-esteem as well as their soft and hard skills.

The event has gathered over 60 young Roma who have participated in the Learning by Doing programme, along with representatives of the main co-financiers such as Ann Westman, from the European Commission representation in Madrid; Ángel García Frontelo, from the Administrative Unit of the European Social Fund in Spain and Jaume Farré, of "la Caixa" Foundation. Representatives of some of the frontline collaborating companies such as Alcampo (Auchamp) or El Corte Inglés have also participated in the event. 

Over 40% employment rate 

According to data from the Agency for Fundamental Rights of the European Union (FRA), 77% of young Roma in Spain are neither in education nor working or being trained for work. A reality that is weighing the future of the Roma community, limiting its social inclusion and widening the inequality gap that prevents Spain from achieving a socially cohesive society. 

In order to respond to this situation, Fundación Secretariado Gitano launched in 2013 the Learning By Doing programme. An initiative aimed at young Roma in situation of high vulnerability. This programme, in which 2,580 young people throughout Spain have participated, has managed to involve frontline companies and has achieved an employment rate of over 40%, and where 37% of participants have returned to education. 

A project that supports the participants and their families

Learning By Doing aims to be an opportunity for young Roma people between 18 and 30 years old (81% are under 25), who in some cases already have family responsibilities, with low qualifications (66% of participants have not completed compulsory secondary education) and who also face other barriers such as coming from families with few resources, discrimination (based on ethnicity or origin), a narrow network of contacts, living in deprived areas, etc.

Throughout the process, the boys and girls who participated in the programme have received a monthly wage of € 350 that has allowed the programme to also have an impact on their families (58% of the families have none of its members in work). 

Mixed model of training and employment tailored to people

The Learning By Doing programme which is framed within the actions of the Youth Guarantee, has given young Roma the opportunity to access a training and employment resource available to youth, which they would not access without the support of a specific programme adapted to their profile.

The key to its success is a complete 6-month practical and theoretical training plan that takes place in real working environments which allows participants to learn to perform more than one occupation within the collaborating companies, which increases their versatility and their chances of finding employment.

A collaborative model, an example of public-private partnership and with a great deal of companies´ involvement

The results of the programme would not have been achieved without the strong involvement of 61 companies,145 work centres in 5 business sectors such as Sales and Warehousing; Hospitality, Food industry, Cleaning and Maintenance and the motor vehicle industry.

Among the most well-known collaborating companies are Leroy Merlin, Ikea, NH Hotels, Auchamp, Carrefour or Conforama. According to the company satisfaction survey, 94% of them would be willing to collaborate again and 97% would recommend the programme to other companies.

The Learning By Doing programme is framed in the European Social Fund National Operational Programme on Youth Employment, attached to the Youth Employment Strategy of the Spanish Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security and which is co-financed by "la Caixa" Bank Foundation. 

For more information about this programme visit our website

Photo gallery

BACK TO MAIN ‘NEWS’ PAGE