Young people from São Miguel and Cascais join VAIVÉM employability project for on-the-job and mobility training - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

A total of 29 young people from São Miguel and Cascais are beginning their participation in the ‘VAIVÉM’ employability pilot project, which will give them the opportunity to acquire on-the-job learning experience (a traineeship) and explore mobility opportunities.

This project is aimed at young people aged between 18 and 29 who are not in education, employment or training. It is run by TESE – Association for Development through Technology, Engineering, Health and Education – as part of the Gulbenkian EMPREGAR initiative, and co-implemented in the Autonomous Region of the Azores by APPJ – Association for the Promotion of Young People at Risk, with the support of the Azorean Government.

During the meeting with young people, which took place today in the parish of Relva on the island of São Miguel, Maria João Carreiro praised the format and goals of this pilot project, which combines preparation, individual support, skills development, experience in different professional contexts and guidance in planning the path to follow after the project.

“‘VAIVÉM’ embodies what should be at the heart of public policy: providing practical opportunities to those who, for various reasons, have been excluded from school, training or the labour market,” emphasised the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, defending that “young people must understand that their starting point does not determine their destination.”

Taking part in this project to promote employability are 15 young people from Cascais, whose training experience in São Miguel began yesterday and runs until November 9, and 14 young people from São Miguel, whose training experience in Cascais will take place between October 1 and November 30.

“The ‘VAIVÉM’ project aims to reach out to these young people through a close and personalised approach,” Maria João Carreiro stated, emphasising that this is an opportunity not only for young participants to boost the skills essential for employability and enhance their capacity for adaptation, but also for the companies and organisations involved in the various stages of the project.

According to the government official, the pilot phase of “VAIVÉM” also is an opportunity to test, on a limited scale, a methodology inspired by European experiences as well as collect information on its suitability to the regional context and geographical area. It focuses on Azorean young people who tend not to access conventional mobility, training or labour market integration programmes.

Based on this understanding, the Region has decided to support the three projects in the Azores submitted under the Gulbenkian EMPREGAR initiative, complementing existing regional measures and with a view to bringing regional public policies closer to the young people most in need of support, diversifying the responses and assessing the results achieved.

The Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment, through the Regional Directorate for Vocational Training and Employment, is supporting the “VAIVÉM” project with €55,500, via a programme contract with APPJ to fund the eligible expenditure of the component being implemented.

Also taking part in the session were the Regional Director for Vocational Training and Employment, Renato Medeiros, the President of APPJ, Pedro Gomes, the “VAIVÉM” coordinator at APPJ, Cristina Horta, and the “VAIVÉM” coordinator at TESE, Carmen Gonçalves.