Why do employment policies turn out to be a key piece in improving social cohesion?

Active employment policies are an essential vector of social cohesion, as they are aimed at all of the following: improving the employability of disadvantaged people; promoting the transparency, equity and efficiency of labour markets; addressing the requirements of the employer sectors through recruitment, guidance and qualification of the labour supply; removing barriers associated with conditions of gender, age and territory. 

To improve active employment policies, it is necessary to concentrate on building or improving the main tools for their development and management: employment services. This includes new assistance models, restructuring of organisational systems, the introduction or improvement of computer platforms, staff training.

What has the work of Italia Lavoro consisted of in Honduras?

By making available the best innovations in this area (both European and Latin American), EUROsociAL has supported the STSS of Honduras in focusing on two key issues: on the one hand, reorganisation of the Honduran National Employment Service (SENAEH), and, on the other, definition of the institutional cooperation mechanisms for implementing processes to facilitate the transition from the educational system to the labour market for young people.

What specific support was provided to the SENAEH?

Reorganisation of the SENAEH was considered a priority objective by the Ministry of Labour because the level of benefits and services provided to the population didn't correspond to the commitment promised by the authorities with respect to the country's employment problems. 

Based on this request, EUROsociAL's support consisted of defining a service model for Honduran employment centres, with the goal of applying it in a pilot office identified by the STSS in the city of Ceiba, in the Atlántida Department.

A first work phase was carried out in Tegucigalpa with the technical team of the STSS, and this took the form of a series of activities with which relevant institutional stakeholders, such as the National Vocational Training Institute (INFOP), the Association of Honduran Municipalities (AMHON), the Ministry of the Interior, the universities, were also associated. One of the main innovations of the new service model is the incorporation of allied actors, controls and defined inputs which provide service to users in collaboration with the SENAEH. This change of focus has strengthened the SENAEH in its capacity to provide basic services to the population and contributes to the creation of a network of allied actors, initially in the city of Ceiba and, subsequently in the entire territory.

In parallel with these changes in the organisational model, the STSS was supported in adapting its computer system and management of the employment centres. Among other items, a function was created that will enable the signing of a service agreement between the employment centre and the unemployed person, and monitoring of the user's path towards job placement. 

Why is it important to strengthen the links between education and employment? What are the problems of young people in Honduras?

Within the framework of an activity carried out at the regional level in collaboration with the ILO in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay, El Salvador and Honduras, an analysis was conducted of the statistics for children from families who have graduated from the "Bono Vida Mejor", the main anti-poverty programme in Honduras. As far as the situation of young people is concerned, the analysis revealed three situations of particular interest: the first corresponds to the group of young people with difficulty finding jobs, those that are classified as unemployed; the second refers to young people who are not in school or working; and the third group is made up of young people who join the work world on a precarious basis, generally in the informal sector. These situations make up the “critical” groups in the social realities of the Bono Vida Mejor, presenting a need to implement a programme that helps young people continue their studies or successfully integrate themselves into the labour market, either as salaried employees or on a self-employed basis. The young people who are neither in school nor working have a greater probability of falling in with groups outside the law or of becoming potential candidates for emigration to address their income problems. In effect, it is estimated that the inequalities in schooling paths translate into different jobs and different income levels, perpetuating and often amplifying the original social inequalities. In this case, education, training and employment policies have an important role to play, and therefore it is necessary to work in a coordinated manner to enable young people to face the moment when they join the labour market and society under better conditions.

How has EUROsociAL acted to favour integration in the labour market of these young people?

Under a request from the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security (STSS), the EUROsociAL Programme supported the Honduran government in evaluating the conditions that will enable the implementation of public policies linking school and work. In particular, and as a starting point, it sought to identify mechanisms for directly linking young people from families emerging from the Bono Vida Mejor (BVM) programme with the institutional offering in the different institutional entities such as the STSS, the National Vocational Training Institute (INFOP), the Secretariat of Education (SE), the Secretariat of Development and Social Inclusion (SEDIS), and the National Commission on Alternative Non-Formal Education. This analysis, the result of the advising provided by EUROsociAL, was used to create a diagnostic document that made it possible to open up the discussion between the stakeholders regarding feasible and sustainable strategies for a school-work transition project for Honduran young people.

In July 2015, with the technical assistance of EUROsociAL, a “national impact” workshop was held that brought together all the stakeholders involved in this inter-agency cooperation process. This workshop resulted in the formation of a technical group that is working on drafting the proposal for an Agreement of the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers (PCM) to formalise the inter-agency cooperation processes that were defined. The purpose of this cooperation is “to orient young people from the Bono Vida Mejor programme towards staying in the educational system and, if for some reason they are unable to do so, to manage their diversion to the different options available to them for supporting their access to a decent job or productive opportunities through monitoring, education, guidance, training, and employment counselling” (taken from the PCM draft).

Why is collaboration between Europe and Latin America important in the area of employment policies?

The collaboration between Europe and Latin America is a space for sharing best practices and innovative solutions for both continents, in particular with respect to addressing policies aimed at young people. Many solutions adopted in Latin America in the area of employment policies could serve as a trigger for reflection at the European level.  

Entrevista aparecida en la Revista Encuentros 04, del Programa EUROsociAL