Two projects will bring training and solidarity-related jobs to about 6,000 young individuals in European member states, according to the European Commission.
Supported by the Commission, the two projects will convene public employment services and state organizations together to provide assistance to the young age group of between 18 and 30.
The Employment and Social Innovation program funded said initiatives amounting to more than €14 million.
The Italian National Agency for active labor policies and the French Public Employment Services will lead these projects, which will run until March 2019.
“The European Solidarity Corps is about creating more and better opportunities. I am happy that starting from today, with the kicking off of the occupational strand, the Corps is offering its full potential to our young people,” Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, said in a statement released on July 10.
“In cooperation with Public Employment Services and partners on the ground, we will offer thousands of young people a concrete opportunity for a job or traineeship in solidarity-related fields across Europe. This will allow them to develop their skills and increase their future labour market prospects,” she added.
Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, likewise expressed his delight to see the European Solidarity Corps “growing.”
“The occupational dimension now makes it complete. We know that many young people in Europe are eager to help others, and that this engagement will have positive knock-on effects for themselves. Participating in the European Solidarity Corps will prove to be a valuable experience for young Europeans at the start of their careers,” Navracsics also told in an official statement.
Campaigns, events, and activities of the project will help in reaching out to potential employers, ensuring the right matching of candidates and financial support, among other things.
This is to precisely identify solidarity-related vacancies that will provide proper job or training for the selected participants.
The public employment services will also ensure the quality of job and fair working conditions and will determine appropriate insurance compensation for participants.
The chosen participants will be engaged in activities such as healthcare, social integration, environmental protection, refugees and migrants assistance, or food aid in other European Union (EU) member countries.
The European Commission advised that interested participants must register on the europa.eu/solidarity-corps website and share their curriculum vitae.
The two projects came about six months following the launching of the European Solidarity Corps and the matching of voluntary placements that began in March 2017.
European Solidarity Corps is continuously being developed and strengthened to achieve its goal of 100,000 placements by the end of the year 2020.
Over 32,000 young individuals have joined since its inception on December 7, 2016.
It was created to offer opportunities to the young population to join in a broad range of solidarity-related activities around Europe.
