Transnational co-operation is a central feature of Equal.
The transnational emphasis makes sure that lessons are learned across the Member States and examples of good practice are exchanged.
Equal Brighton & Hove's transnational partners are with AMetris,(Area Metropolitana per L'Inclusione Sociale), who are based on Pescara and Chieti, in Italy.
The joint project entitled INCITIES, Integrated Cities Towards Inclusion, Equality and Sustainability, has been set up to explore common themes and processes involved in the delivery of each local project. One of the main areas of commonality is the development of a wide-ranging citywide strategy to tackle discrimination and the inequality of treatment experienced by disadvantaged groups of people in the labour market both in Brighton and Hove and the metropolitan area of Pescara and Chieti.
The programme has chosen to look at the areas of Supported Employment, Corporate Social Responsibility and the role of the voluntary sector in ESF programme delivery.
The penultimate Transnational Programme visit took place from the 12th-16th March 2007. Visitors from Ametris attended two conferences that took place on the 14th and the 16th of March. The first on Social Inclusion and Employment in Local Strategic Planning, and the second on National & Regional Influences on Local Strategic Planning. The Italian delegates also met with staff from Brighton & Hove City Council and were treated to food prepared by the 20-20 Cafe Project - this generated some excellent publicity for the programme in the Argus. On the final day, the Italian delegation met with Brighton & Hove's Mayor at a Civic Reception.
ECOTEC have produced a Good Practice Guide on Transnationality
A.Metr.I.S Project Study Visit March 06
27th March – 31st March 2006
Pescara & Chieti, Italy
The A.Metr.I.S Italian Equal Project Study Visit in March was extremely interesting for all concerned. The following is an overview of the background to our transnational partnership and the project we are working on together.
Our partners are located in Pescara and Chieti, two towns in Abruzzo on the east coast of Italy. The projects were selected as partners due to the similarities of focus.
There are differences, most notably that EBH is a considerably larger DP with 23 different Activity Partners and 70 projects involved in delivery, whereas the A.METR.I.S (Area METRopolitana per l'Inclusione Sociale) project is made up of 7 delivery partners. Due to this we can clearly see that the diversity of projects is not matched in our Italian partners, so it may not be relevant for all EBH partners to take part in these upcoming transnational activities.
However there is still much to share. We have started our working - and may indeed take it to the end of the project - sharing practices around Supported Employment and Corporate Social Responsibility including of course employer engagement.
We are joined in a project entitled IN.CI.T.I.E.S INtegrated Cities Towards Inclusion Equality & Sustainability.
The following is greater background to our partners the A.METR.I.S Project
A.METR.I.S Project:
• The Project is about motivating people to find work and enabling vulnerable and disadvantaged people into work.
• The Partnership consists of the town councils of Pescara & Chieti, the Centre for Voluntary Services, the Employers Union of Pescara, the Trade Union of Pescara and two voluntary organisations Caritas Foundation and The Queen Mary Foundation (Fondazione Maria Regina)
• Supports inter-sector partnership work
• The project operates through two supported employment centres, which function in similar ways to an employment agency and uses a database to match the clients with the employers
• The project follows on from a previous programme called Streets which was funded through Equal Action 1.
• Started Jan 2006, 70 clients to date (March).
• Operate by providing a job mentoring service to their clients, helping clients to job search and equip themselves with skills such as CV writing, interview practice etc.
• If the clients need further training, the project refers them on to the appropriate agency.
• The case loads provide support until the client is able to support themselves, though this is not open-ended and clients are encouraged to take control of their situations
• Clients include people from disadvantaged groups such as disabilities, older workers, ex-offenders, ex-substance misusers
• 2 Centres; Pescara and Chieti.
• The Project works closely with employers to understand their needs and employment opportunities, offering the following services:
o Recruitment Service
o Employer Mentoring
o Information on employment law etc through the Supported Employment Technician, see below organisational breakdown
o Payment of expenses to the client
• The project markets itself to clients through sending information to
o Social Services/Benefits Agency – most referrals come from here
o Trade Unions
o Voluntary Associations
o Job Centre – good source of referrals
o Relatives/Friends ‘Word of Mouth’
o Pamphlets
o People passing by the shop front office and dropping in
o PR
• The clients must have proof of their need - i.e. medical certificate for disability
• The project markets itself to employers through:
o Employers Union
o Trade Associations
o Phone Contact
o Staff Leasing Agencies
o Mailshots to companies
o Looking through recruitment ads in local press and contacting employers
Background:
• Unemployment at 24% in the South of Italy (from Rome down)
• Youth Unemployment at 60% in the South
• Unemployment made up of 2/3 female vs. 1/3 male
• Today 4/100 employees are employed through public recruitment agencies
• Taxes are recognised as high, 8 million registered businesses
• No minimum wage
• Part time work isn’t common though temporary contracts are
• Cash in hand/Black Market represents an estimated 30% of total GDP across Italy
Italian Employment Contracts:
• Apprenticeship contract for 15 to 29 yrs – poorly paid
• Trainee Contract for 6 months – unpaid - bursary e400/500 per month for expenses. Incl. people with disabilities
• 'Contract for project collaboration' – no age limit, no job security – employers can terminate the contract and re-start with new staff the following day
• Temporary Contract – same as the UK
• Intermittent job contract – temporary seasonal work
• Fortuitous services – 30 days / annum contracts for up to e5,000 p.a. in service areas such as domestic, agricultural and care work. National Insurance and pensions to be paid by employee. Limited rights
• Staff Leasing – no fixed term
• Temporary Contract Fixed Term
• Permanent Contract – dismissal from employment very difficult, most sought after contract but now hard to find. Set up some years ago to protect workers rights, reality of situation means those in these contracts will not move, often resulting in low productivity and employers are reluctant to offer similar contracts in future. Many statutory workers have these contracts.
Working with Socially Excluded People:
• 1999 ‘Service for Compulsory Employment’ Law introduced stating that 1/15 jobs should be assigned to a disabled worker – only applies to permanent contracts
• Contract of Integration – to encourage employers to take disadvantaged people on by awarding pay of 2 grades lower
• B-Coops – if 30% of employees are disadvantaged then these Coops don’t have to go through the normal tendering process for contracts, getting extra points for their employees. They also do not have to pay any taxes on contracts for up to 8 years.
Abruzzo Region – Pescara and Chieti:
• High percentage of older people in Abruzzo region (incl. Pescara & Chieti)
• 1/3 of land is nature reserves, highest percentage in Europe
• Unemployment 7.8%
• GDP e24.5 billion – import e3.5 billion; export e5.3 billion
• 3rd largest producer of wine in Italy
• Up until 10 years ago the Government gave assistance for development of manufacturing plants; since this has ceased, a large amount of industry has left the region. The knock on effect has been social cohesion and social support issues.
Members of the Equal Core team and a small number of professionals have completed the final Transnational Programme visit with a trip to Pescara & Chieti. The visit was split into two parts: 2 days of workshops and meetings centred on corporate social responsibility, and a further 2 days of conferences on Actions 2 and 3.
The group also visited the De Cecco pasta factory in the Chieti hills. De Cecco are one of the biggest pasta-making companies in Italy and are leading the way with implementing a culture of social inclusion and responsibility to their employees and community in the Abruzzo region.
There are a number economic similarities between Brighton & Hove and Pescara & Chieti including an importance in both on the retail, food and tourism industries. There are also elements of light manufacturing and both are coastal areas.
The visit was a great success and provided many opportunities for discussion and sharing experiences, especially those on current working practices. The week-long visit ended on 25th May.
Equal Brighton & Hove and Ametris are involved in the development of a transnational programme which spans the two years of Equal Action 2 delivery. The project is entitled INCITIES, INtegrated Cities Towards Inclusion, Equality and Sustainability.
The project has involved two study visits thus far, whereby delegates from both projects have visited each country to understand further the aims and processes involved in their Equal delivery.
The project has been focusing on the themes of
- Supported Employment: discovering the various methods of delivery through EBH and Ametris, and
- Corporate Social Responsibility: sharing practices and discussion around methods of engaging local businesses in one of the key elements of the Equal Employability theme.
The most recent study visit took place in Brighton & Hove during June 2006. Please see the attached report to find out more about the activities and learning that took place.
INCITIES has succeeded in engaging a number of EBH projects and also developing a new website in which to store documents pertaining both to INCITIES progress and local information, best practice and documents.
The website is accessible only through a username and password, which can be obtained through Transnational Coordinator Harriet Gill. The website is sited on the home page of our partner's website www.ametris.it
The next stage in the Incities workplan is to develop interest through individual projects and our relationship with all aspects of Ametris.
We have a study visit programmed for October 16 - 20, which will again be looking at supported employment and developing ways of sharing practice.
There will also be a forum examining the role of the voluntary sector in the delivery of Equal projects.
The visit will give project workers the opportunity to meet their counterparts and work together on the project.
Further INCITIES projects are planned for February 2007 where we intend to link local businesses from both cities in Pescara, to work together to form a viable approach to involving vulnerable people in their work forces and understanding how business support needs can be met.
March 12th - 16th 2007 will see a series of events in Brighton & Hove involving local, regional, national and European policy makers to look at the future of work practices piloted through Equal Action 2. There will also be focused workshops examining the Public Private partnership with insight into potential future practice.
Our final event will take place in May 2008 in Pescara and Chieti and will round up the projects findings and present them as part of a wider dissemination event for the Ametris Equal programme.
Further information about all these events will be featured on this website in the coming months, or can be obtained by contacting Oliver Gill on (01273) 294673.