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The project worked with the "Coaching Cycle" methodology developed by the Swisscontact C4EE project team in Albania in collaboration with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, which is already being successfully implemented in Eastern Europe in its tenth year. To promote the development of young women and men, the project aimed at solving important obstacles such as the lack of life and professional competence of young people, a lack of information and orientation on labour market opportunities, a lack of access and appropriate services for these categories at various levels. This was achieved by training coaches who accompany groups of 10 - 15 participants over the course of six months. The coaches meet with them several times a week and guide them through the different stages of the Coaching Cycle. The cycle was based on the concept of core competencies, which can be divided into the four dimensions of personal, social, methodological, and professional competencies. Participants developed these skills through theoretical and practical courses, internships, individual career counselling, psychological support, and activities in small groups.
The weak cooperation between state and private actors in the field of employment was also reinforced. This alone, however, is not enough to facilitate the insertion of these youth in the labour market. Therefore, youth were given the opportunity to connect and network with micro and small businesses, which represent 80% of the labour market, that can potentially employ them based on their competencies rather than on nepotism. Also, to further increase the youths’ chances of labour market insertion, the youth had access to:
Because of this improved access to employment support services, the youth were able to improve their employability and thus were enabled to obtain jobs and earn an income.
The project also worked with Micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which represent 80% of the labour market and are highly dependent on larger well-connected companies for contracts, lack access to markets or the necessary skill sets to access new markets, all of which hinder sustainable income generation. Through the business services provided in the project, MSEs could become part of a network of other MSEs that are constrained by the same factors. Through trainings they could develop their competences in areas such as digitalisation, accounting and logistics and access joint business solutions such as call centres and logistic centres. Through an online “Naam"-platform they could access new markets where they can promote new digital services and the “Hub” enableed them to access contracts that were previously out of reach due to limited resources and networks. MSEs could also access a skills-matching service provided by the ‘hub’. This enabled MSEs to operate more efficiently and potentially find the labour they need among the pool of coaching cycle graduates.
As a result, these businesses had the ability to generate sustainable income and they were able to preserve or even create jobs in the long run.
This project finds a continuation in form of a new phase 2025-2028 with slightly altered content.
The project sustainably improved the labour market integration of marginalised young Syrian, Palestinian, and Lebanese women and men through a six-month guided Coaching Cycle. The project likewise introduced the Opportunity Hub, which connects graduates of the Coaching Cycle with micro and small enterprises (MSEs).
This project was financed by the Leopold Bachmann Foundation and Katholisch Stadt Zürich, among other donors. This project is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA.