FUNDACIÓN DÉDALO

Friday April 10, 2015

FIT is leading a consortium of partners from across Europe, engaged in piloting the FIT “training for Employment” model in five European countries including Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain.

The “training for employment” model pioneered by FIT is unique in its approach to employer engagement in the process and provision of softskills and support to students before, during and after the training. FIT has trained 15,500 job seekers and placed over 12,000 in employment since 1999.

The FIT4JOBS project honours the FIT Pledge to the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs[1] to commence the propagation of the FIT “Training for Employment” (TFE) model across Europe.

Each country partner will plan, execute and provide analysis of this unique fit4jobs pilot which provides a complete and tested series of activities which results in an ICT up-skilled job seeker entering the workplace.

The process includes the following main steps: identification and selection of suitable candidates for training, partnership with local employers to specify the curricula, provision of ICT training by 3rd party or public services, provision of softskills training and support, job placement, and overall project analysis. Job placement is secured through a strong relationship between employers and local partner before during and after training.

A unique and vital aspect of this process is the strong support from employers to specify skills requirements, conduct CV reviews, mock interviews, work experience and finally job placement. A second key element is the softskills and supports offered to the job seekers before, during and after ICT training. Softskills include a range of subjects designed to increase employability levels of the student, such as CV preparation, mock interviews and work etiquette.

This TFE model has been the basis of FIT training over the past 15 years and has demonstrated a 75% progression result. It is believed that, not only can this outcome can be achieved in other jurisdictions, but the collective learning from the pilots will greatly enrich the FIT model in the future and render it suitable for much wider dissemination and inclusion in EC and national governments policy.

The FIT4JOBS project started November 2014 and will run for 18 months during which the partners will engage with local employers, arrange and supervise the ICT training, provide softskills training & support and support job seekers in obtaining job placements. Data will be collected during multiple stages of the project and the results of the project will be disseminated widely by Telecentre Europe.

The FIT4JOBS pilot is intended to demonstrate the unique value of the FIT training model and in particular the focus on employer engagement. The pilot across five other European countries will not only prove the model is transferable to other jurisdictions but also enrich the overall model for further propagation across all European states and beyond. There is the potential to place 100,000 job seekers in jobs by 2020 through this process.

It is strongly anticipated that the learning from this project will be viewed positively by national governments and the European Commission and considered favourably in future related strategies and policies.

FIT4JOBS - Partner organisations

Greece: The Hellenic Professionals Informatics Society (HePIS) is a network of all ICT Professionals in Greece advocating their interests at both national and European level.

Ireland: FIT Ltd (Fast Track to IT) is an industry-led initiative which works in close collaboration with the (Irish) government departments and national education and training agencies, local development organisations and a host of community based organisations, to provide IT training for employment to long term unemployed. 

Latvia: Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA), the leading ICT professional non-governmental association promoting the development of Information Society and e-skills in Latvia.

Lithuania: The Lithuanian Association Langas I ateiti (Window to the Future), a non-profit initiative launched in 2002 by private companies and that provides computer literacy and Internet training to adults stimulating the growth of e-services countrywide

Portugal: Programa Escolhas, a nationwide program, created in 2001 and operating under the High Commission for Migration, aiming to promote social inclusion of children and young people from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds.

Spain: The Spanish Association of Telecentre Networks" (ACRT) brings together a number of entities to impulse, activate and maintain public spaces (telecentres) in order promote the Information Society and provide access to ICT to citizens

Telecentre Europe is a member-based association representing networks and NGO’s in the field of digital skills, social inclusion and ICT adult education providers. We represent telecentres, telecentre networks and any European organisation that provides access to and training in digital skills.

For more information contact Manus Hanratty:

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www.fit4jobs.eu