Employment of Disadvantaged Women: Development of Skills in Finding Job and Setting up Business Erasmus Project

Project Title

Employment of Disadvantaged Women: Development of Skills in Finding Job and Setting up Business

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Gender equality / equal opportunities

Project Summary

In Europe and in Turkey, disadvantaged women (with low level of education, low socio-economic status, disabled, long term unemployed etc.) are in a vulnerable state in the labour market. Many of them are lacking the skills, job search skills, work experience and abilities to set up their own business. Disadvantaged women clearly need to be given the chance to acquire competenties to enter the labour market. To address this issue, this project focused on unemployment and training problems of disadvantaged women. The project aimed assisting disadvantaged women to find a suitable job by developing their job search skills, socializing skills and by encouraging them setting up their own business through developing appropriate innovative vocational training modules, counseling services and other instruments. Disadvantaged women have been encouraged to set up their own business by increasing their entrepreneurial potential and by redirecting them to get microcredits.

The objectives were:
– To increase the number of disadvantaged women in suitable employment by providing vocational education modules for them;
– Reviewing current applications in partner countries about vocational education of disadvantaged women;
– To develop an analysis regarding specific vocational training needs of disadvantaged women;
– To develop appropriate job search skills and business building skills of disadvantaged women through vocational education modules, counseling services in career guidance and workshops;
– To increase socializing skills and community participation of disadvantaged women through training modules and workshops;
– Providing of the innovative modules and services to disadvantaged women in Turkey, Austria, France and Slovenia.
– To disseminate good practices and methodologies on lifelong learning regarding social integration and career guidance of disadvantaged women.

These aims were addressed to developing the quality and attractiveness of vocational education and training systems through increased cooperation with project partners and all relevant target groups. EDWOD project used new methods, models, approaches and it’s an original project rather than a transfer project.

The project’s partnership developed an analyze regarding specific vocational training needs of disadvantaged women, through a need analyis survey with 50 persons (disadvantaged women, employers, experts about vocational education and training) in Turkey and 10 persons in partner countries. According to this need analysis innovative products and instruments (e.g. vocational training modules, workshops, seminars, website, books about the project) were developed for the main target group, which are disadvantaged women. These products and instruments were used by experts in the field of vocational education, finacial experts, employers, private sector players in vocational education institutions, universities, NGO’s working with disadvantaged women, disabled people’s organizations. All project materials were in English and Turkish, thus a wide range of people benefited from the developed materials. Also, project materials and developed strategies will be on display in project web site and e-learning system, each person who need information can reach the products.

The developed modules and instruments were provided to more than 100 disadvantaged women in Turkey and to more than 20 disadvantaged women in all partner countries, in the established local Training Clubs, which represent the local training and services situated in the participating organisation or in the target community. Each Training Club was coordinated by a local person who knows how to work with local people and who has extensive expertise about providing training and counseling to disadvantaged women.

For providing sustainability for the project we benefited from the creeted dissemination tools that will display project results and products. We provided that disadvantaged women and all other target groups are be active user of the project website which have been designed as they will be available for 4 years.

In addition to furthering regional cooperation, the project builds on best European practice. The project focuses on networking and exchanging of ideas among organizations across Europe regarding various employment problems of disadvantaged women. Therefore the exchange of experiences and best practices among project partners added value to the project by creating viable opportunities for supporting the integration of disadvantaged women into the labour market, addressing regional disparities, increasing the possibilities of lifelong learning.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 179831,65 Eur

Project Coordinator

Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi & Country: TR

Project Partners

• CIF FRANCE
• Dost Egitim Turizm Insaat Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
• Arihan Ozel Egitim Saglik Danismanlik Medikal Temizlik Hizmetleri Tasimacilik Ticaret Ltd. Sti.
• Storic, storitveni center d.o.o.
• KIRIKKALE UNIVERSITY
• Berufliches Bildungs- und Rehabilitationszentrum Österreich – BBRZ Ö