2023-08-06 17:47:07
August 05, 2023 Today at 09:58
Updated at 05 August 2023 09:58
Duo for a Job celebrates its tenth anniversary. The Belgian non-profit organization which promotes the socio-professional integration of young people from immigrant backgrounds continues its international expansion.
Why stop now while everything is going so well? The question might sum up the state of mind in Duo for a Job. At the time of blowing out its ten candles, the non-profit organization displays 6,000 duos on the counter in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. A success, no doubt. But Frédéric Simonart, CEO and co-founder, prefers to look at the magnitude of the road ahead, rather than savoring its success. The “tandems” of Duo for a Job are engaged in a race once morest the clock: the integration of young people with an immigrant background into the labor market. And their CEO hammers it home: “It’s urgent“.
Duo for a Job was born in Brussels just a decade ago, from a double observation. That, first, of thevery significant gap in terms of access to the labor market between young people with an immigrant background And the others. That of the insufficient valuation, then, of the experience of fifty years and more at the end of their career.
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The innovative idea, in 2013, is therefore to train duets: what young people from immigrant backgrounds who lack the social and cultural capital to access employment, can benefit from the professional experience of mentors – fifty years or more, nearing retirement.
A success beyond the numbers too
L’direct impact on young beneficiaries is quickly demonstratedwith an insertion rate to employmentfollowing support, more than 50% – and more than 70% if we add training, internships, and resumption of studies – compared to 28% for those who had access to all traditional employment assistance services, without mentoring. The economic impact is attractive for public finances.
“What these figures do not reveal”, adds Frédéric Simonart, “is the confidence that young people acquire, their ability to create a network, their autonomy and the professional project better defined with which they come out of their accompaniment”. mentors find there, them, motivation et new skillseven at the end of their career, interculturality in the workplace and in coaching.
Vue en plein écran ©Tim Dirven
Duo for a Job expands to France in 2019in Paris first, then Lille and Marseille, and then Rotterdam, in the Nederlands. She now has 17 antennas and the support capacities have gone from a few hundred a year, to 2000 annual duets.
“After ten years, we are proud to say thata mentor accompanies on average more than five young people. Nine out of ten mentors resume coaching following completing one. Thanks to this enthusiastic breeding ground, we can be very ambitious for the future“.
Key figures
Duo for a job constituted 6.000 duos since 2013.The success rate is 50% integration into the labor market (70% if training and internships in companies are included) compared to 28% in the traditional employment assistance channels.The association has a pool of 1,800 mentors – people aged 50 and over, of which 50% are still professionally active, from 70 different business sectors. On average, a mentor accompanies 5 young people. annual supervision capacity is now of 2,000 duos, once morest a few hundred at startup. 20 companies are partnersincluding Bpost, Ethias, Johnson&Jonhson, Brussels Airport, the National Bank of Belgium, SDWorx, and Van Moer Logistics.Duo for a job account a hundred jobshalf of them in Belgium – and a hundred volunteers.
The ambition to accelerate the development
There is no shortage of ambition here. “We can achieve in two to three years the equivalent of what we have done in the last ten yearsand quickly double our impact“, slips Frédéric Simonart, who does not only brandish figures to spread his success.
“After ten years of existence in BrusselsWe are at less than 2% of potential young people who have been supported (18-33 year olds, job seekers and of non-European origin). However, it is our most mature branch. Il there is a social emergency to support many more young people“, exclaimed the CEO.
Duo for a Job’s intention is therefore to continue its development where it is present, but also to continue to expand: in Lyon, and in the Netherlands – The Hague, Amsterdam, and Utrecht are planned, before opening withina fourth country within three years – Spain is in sight. “But if we want to go from 2,000 to 50,000 duos per year, we must secure our funding model and be able to recruit”.
Challenges, especially in Flanders
Duo for à Job therefore calls on its stakeholders to sustain its funding model. On the side of authorities first, specifically in the north of the country. Structural funding has indeed been secured in all the regions where the association is present, except in Flanders. “Our activity there is at risk, and we risk divesting of the Flemish Region, if a funding framework is not put in place for mentoring.”
“The more companies send us mentors, the more they build expertise in interculturality in the workplace. Whether we like it or not, we are moving towards more diversity within companies.”
Frédéric Simonart
CEO and co-founder of Duo for a Job
Coast companiesthen, to diversify its sources of income – and not depend solely on subsidies, the non-profit organization wants expand your network“to have more impact, we must mobilize more companies. It is the only lever that allows us to generate income directly“.
About twenty are today partners of Duo for a job, including Bpost, Ethias, Johnson&Jonhson, Brussels Airport, the National Bank of Belgium, and SDWorx. These companies offer training prior to mentoring to some of their employees and provide two hours per week of work time dedicated to supporting a young person.
Call of the foot to companies
“It allows them to value their older workersat the end of their career, but also with a view to transition to following work“, argues Frédéric Simonart. “What also interests them is access to young people from diverse backgrounds who want it, get your hands on specific skills and diversify teams“, in a context where many companies are experiencing recruitment problems.
Diversity among mentors
The nearly 2,000 mentors who make up Duo for a Job’s pool are from more than 70 different business sectors. “The strength of workers over 50 is that they have often experienced several sectors during their career – which allows them to be flexible in relation to the specific demands of young people”, explains Frédéric Simonart. The fact remains thatInitially, the mentors of Duo for a Job were mainly from higher socio-professional categories. Even today, 75% of them have a university profile or a managerial position. “Having CEOs and executives is very good, because they have held responsibilities and have a certain network. But some young people need more technical experience, for example in construction. Hence the importance of having a very heterogeneous group. But this desire to diversify mentors is not not really a challenge, we get there“, concludes the CEO of Duo for a Job.
“The more companies send us mentors, the more they build a form of expertise in interculturality At work. Whether we want it or not, we are moving towards more diversity within companies. And then, social attractiveness (say “ESG” or “CSR”, NDR) becomes strategic, in particular for the recruitment of increasingly demanding profiles in this respect”. The call of the foot might not be clearer.
Full screen view “The objective is not to plant Duo for a Job flags everywhere, just for fun”, points out Frédéric Simonart regarding his international ambitions. ©Tim Dirven
Fund raising
Finally, Duo for a Job would like to increase its funding from foundations, philanthropy, and develop its fundraising with small and medium-sized donors. But concretely, this already implies “contacts with more than 200 financial partners – so many relationships to maintain and reporting to achieve”, emphasizes Frédéric Simonart, who points another challenge: “the recruitment of rare profilesof whom we ask financial sacrifices, even if they are offered meaning”.
Cyclists know this. it is better to be in a group to ride once morest the wind. Duo for a Job also knows this. To cross the pass of her ambitions, she will not be able to climb her tandems alone.
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“The question occupied us from 2019”, explains Frédéric Simonart, when asked if Duo for a Job will not reach the limits of its geographical expansion. “Wouldn’t it be better to just share what we do and let other projects take over, In other countries? The question is legitimate. But we are convinced that we can be more efficient, faster and at a lower cost, thanks to the tools and expertise that we have developed over the past ten years – at least in neighboring countries. The goal is not to plant Duo for a Job flags everywhere, just for fun. We are getting stronger as we expand into new markets, with a access to European funds, international foundations, and new companies. This does not prevent us from sharing our data in open source on our content and training, to try to push other initiatives that will not be called “Duo for a Job”. Stopping growing, it will be understood, is not part of the plan.
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