SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Feb. 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Tenerife Island Council has bolstered the ‘Communities for Employment: Stronger Together 2024’ initiative with a budget increase to £4.2 million, aimed at enhancing the job prospects of unemployed individuals on the island.
Rosa Dávila, the president of the insular corporation, highlighted the rise in funding by £300,000 compared to the previous year, allocated to the organizations overseeing the program, which include Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife, Red Cross, Don Bosco Foundation, General Foundation of the University of La Laguna, and Insular Society for the Advancement of People with Disabilities (Sinpromi).
The program is coordinated by the Insular Foundation for Training, Employment and Business Development (Fifede), an entity under the jurisdiction of the Island Council.
Dávila, accompanied by the Minister of Employment and Education, Efraín Medina, and Elena Marco, the representative for the Red Cross program, emphasized the significance of the program, targeting the most vulnerable individuals, and its growth over the years to meet the needs of participating organizations and individuals.
She underscored the program’s success despite challenges, attributing it to the collaboration of the organizations and individuals, as well as companies involved in its implementation.
Dávila remarked that “this program is designed for Tenerife residents who are unemployed or seeking to actively engage in job hunting, serving 5,000 individuals last year, with over 1,400 securing employment.”
She stressed the importance of addressing these issues to enhance the island’s prospects.
Medina highlighted that the program encompasses 27 hubs, five of which are specifically for individuals with disabilities, spread across the island and managed by 101 technical team members.
Detailing this year’s updates, the Minister of Employment and Education mentioned the promotion of incentives for companies collaborating with the project to hire individuals at risk of social or occupational exclusion.
Medina elaborated that “this support will finance a portion of the salary costs and Social Security contributions for up to three months for individuals hired at workplaces in Tenerife, provided these contracts are offered to individuals participating in ‘Communities for Employment: Stronger Together’ who are currently unemployed.”
CROSS-SECTORAL TRAINING
Medina also emphasized the special focus on cross-sectoral training and empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities, as well as other target groups, fostering the implementation of transition to employment programs, which involve training individuals in a range of behaviours and tasks facilitating job attainment, retention, and adaptation to the work environment.
Additionally, he announced the launch of the Vocational Employment Service, aimed at guiding, motivating, and creating self-employment opportunities through an innovative teamwork approach.
Expressing gratitude for the collective effort and ongoing program continuity, Elena Marco highlighted the pivotal role of program personnel who directly engage with unemployed individuals and reiterated the satisfaction of witnessing 1,400 individuals gaining employment last year.
Marco outlined the intervention methodology with three key elements: Personalized Integration Plans to enhance employability, territorial involvement of the community and local resources in the project, and the establishment of processes to acquire and transfer knowledge generated through the project.
SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES
For individuals with disabilities, the intervention is based on the principles and phases of the Supported Employment method, striving to facilitate access to regular employment for those with severe disabilities requiring extensive support.
The program’s strategic goals include providing guidance and training for the unemployed, forming partnerships with companies for employment opportunities, refining collaboration with participating organizations, tailoring the project’s actions to local realities, enhancing the employability of particularly vulnerable groups, and disseminating the project’s actions and outcomes to the wider population.
In line with previous updates, provisions are maintained to assist individuals lacking formal training in taking competency tests to obtain ‘Professional Certificates’, presenting a competitive advantage in a selection process. Moreover, efforts continue to address the specific needs and improve the employability of the Gypsy People and the Technical Training School, involving all program entities to train future employment technicians, leveraging the experience and methodologies employed in ‘Communities for Employment’.
