Digitalent trained 90 unemployed young people
The Digitalent project initiated by the Proximus Foundation is aimed at young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are unemployed and have few qualifications. Through interactive workshops based on ICT, entrepreneurship and job search techniques, coaches remotivate young people who have often only known failure, they teach them to know themselves better, and reinstate a discipline in life.
The project aims to bring these young people, who are increasingly isolated, back to existing structures. Since they do not systematically register as job seekers, they lose contact with integration organisations and will join the ranks of the NEETs (not in employment, education or training). In Belgium, the Neets represented 12% of the population aged 15-24 in 2014 (SPF Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue statistics). To recruit workshop participants, the Proximus Foundation uses the databases of Forem, VDAB and Actiris, and also informs the social structures of the municipalities, youth centers, community centers and CPAS.
In practice
Young people are invited to come and get information during an “infosession” day which is organized one or two weeks before the start of a training cycle. It is on this occasion that registrations for the training workshops can begin. The Digitalent workshops take place over 8 weeks full time. A typical week consists of:
3 days of discovery of the basic techniques of design and 3D printing, programming and website creation
1 day with YouthStart trainers to develop the entrepreneurial spirit
1 day with trainers from the regional employment office (Forem, VDAB, or Actiris/Bruxelles Formation) to improve their presentation techniques, writing a CV and cover letter, and better identify their strengths and assets
Among the projects carried out by the 90 young people during this year, we can discover a trash can that sorts paper, plastic and metal waste automatically, an interactive fresco, a laser harp, a musical hand, a drone, an interactive game board, a car remote-controlled by smartphone, or even a camera.
At the end of the project, a support plan for the young people is established by the regional employment office and the Proximus foundation. The objective is to support the young person in their efforts and to guide them, whether in the search for qualifying training, an internship or a job.
Results
Over the past year, Digitalent has organised 8 training cycles, representing more than 300 hours of training attended by 90 young people. As the project is itinerant, it has been organised in the following cities: Brussels, Liège, Charleroi, Antwerp, Hasselt and Ghent… Of all the participants (59 young people) in the first 5 training cycles, 12 of them have found work, one of them has even started his own 3D printing company and 21 young people have resumed training. In addition, personalised monitoring by Forem, VDAB or Actiris/Bruxelles Formation, depending on the region, is still ongoing for each of the participants.
