(Communicated by the
ILO)
The Government of Israel today (March 27) signed an agreement with the International Labour Organization to promote decent work opportunities for Roma Youth in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Roma, of whom there are an estimated 10 million in the subregion,
face particular challenges in access to jobs and have been the worst hit
in those countries by the recent financial and economic crisis. Roma
represent more than 20 percent of new entrants into the labour force in
central and Eastern Europe, and their young people are trapped in a
vicious circle that leads them through high dropout rates in education,
child labour, low skills acquisition, difficulty to access and to stay
in the labour market, low pay, stereotyping and stigmatization that
further push them to the margin of economic activities.
The
donation of USD150,000 by Israel's Ministry of Economy, the first of its
kind, will support the ILO through projects to enhance job creation and
equal opportunities in the face of social and cultural exclusion and
multiple discrimination. These include both public policies to eradicate
discrimination and promote inclusion, empowerment of the affected
groups and communities, and pilot testing of innovative experiences.
A
variety of national, European and international institutions have been
active for a long time on the Roma issue, but the overall balance of
these programmes and initiatives shows that further efforts are needed
to systematize approaches to address the underlying factors that
currently impede Roma access to and integration in the labour market.
The purpose of this project is to develop an ILO intervention concept to
address the decent work needs and gaps of young Roma through the
customization and testing of global ILO practices and tools.
Activities will focus on development of a a toolkit combining measures on various issues, including -
- Elimination of child labour and provision of incentives to families of children to enrol and stay in primary education
- Skills development and transition from school to work
- Entrepreneurship education
- Vocational guidance and job counselling through enhanced capacity of employment services
- Implementation of youth guarantee schemes
- Entrepreneurship development with a focus on creative industries and green economy
- Local economic development initiatives
- Microfinance
- Extension of social protection
- Empowerment and promotion of equal opportunities, including enforcement of non-discrimination legislation.
This
will be tested through joint activities with other organizations,
including those of the Roma themselves. The direct recipients will be
decision-makers and staff of national and international institutions
involved in the formulation and implementation of Roma education and
employment policies and programmes, as well as the social partners
(staff of employers’ and workers’ organizations) and Roma organizations.
The ultimate beneficiaries are young Roma women and men between
the ages of 15 and 29, who will benefit from integrated, more effective
and gender-sensitive policy responses, as well as targeting mechanisms
addressing their labour market integration. Particular attention will be
given to low-skilled youth and school dropouts, young workers in the
informal economy and youth in poor communities.