What can be learned from this project?
The success of this programme has been underpinned by:
• A person-focused approach. This enables staff to truly understand the needs of the Centre’s users, including the personal and cultural issues that can affect a person’s ability to gain employment.
• Flexible service. The organisation exists only to respond to the needs of its users. Its open door approach and willingness to recognise and broker cultural difficulties enables it to overcome very significant hurdles facing foreigners, who rarely engage with official public service bodies.
• Local regeneration. The City of Torino and the public generally support and encourage the neighbourhood’s market, which relies strongly on sublegal informal immigrant initiative. This approach and support help the market to succeed.
• Leadership. With the association’s director emerging from an immigrant-focused training course as an entrepreneur, the project is more firmly rooted in the local community and has a better understanding of the needs of its users.
• External funding and support. This specially targeted small-scale project requires significant input per person assisted, but this helps it reach vulnerable and marginal minority populations.
Topics associated with this project
Cohesion, Economy, Employment, Housing, International, Neighbourhood, Regeneration, Training