Improving Socio-economical Conditions of Youth Through Vocational Training Courses and an Orientation Help Desk

Related projects

• Promoting Social Inclusion and Employment with "Il Faro" (Mother project)
• Professional courses for immigrant youth in Italy: cook’s assistant, baker, gastronomer
• Supporting Educational Courses for Immigrants in Italy
• “Building Hope” – Supporting Professional Training Courses For Disadvantaged Women And Youngs To Help Them In Finding A Job
• Sustaining “Il Faro” Training Courses for Young Immigrants in Rome
• Language Courses, Vocational Training and Guidance for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Italy

Project location: Italy, Rome
Project start date: December 2013 - Project end date: December 2014
Project number: 2013-061
Beneficiary: Fondazione Il Faro di Susanna Agnelli

TIMELINE OF THE PRESENT ACTIVITY REPORT: From January  to October 2014

“Could we start again, please? ” was addressed to 115 young migrants living in Rome in severe conditions of social and economic hardship. The project objective was two-fold,  aiming at both an increase of the beneficiaries' employment rate, and at the improvement of their social inclusion. Both the results have been  reached.

The planned vocational course for hairstylist were held from February  to April, 2014.  The class was composed by 15 young migrants ( 16 - 30 years old) from different countries: Senegal, Congo, Ecuador, Moldavia, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Egypt, Albania.

The admittance examination consisted of a first written test of Italian language. Lessons took place every day from Monday to Friday, from 9.15 a.m. till 1.30 p.m. The 140 hours training course was divided into a theoretical part and a practical one. Practical lessons were held in Faro's equipped laboratories. All the teachers were professional instructors, with a long experience in teaching to students with difficulties. The students had the opportunity to also attend a course about HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), and a course about health and safety conditions in the workplace (according to Italian Civil Law).

The main subjects of the Hairstylist course were:

-    illustration of various instruments in the lab, their functions and their correct use

-    hair structure

-    illustration of cosmetics for hair

-    the different treatment of the hair

-    how to make a good shampoo

-    hair perm

-    hair coulour

-    different technique of streak and highlights

-    the relationship with the costumers

-    the labor market

-    knowledge of marketing


To strengthen students' self-confidence and self-perception , Il Faro held two vocational guidance meetings in which a psychologist helped students to stress their skills through the writing of effective résumés and presentation letters, and explained them how to go through successful job interviews. After the lessons, the Foundation also organized  one-to-one talks between students and the psychologist to customize the information given during the collective meetings.

Another important aim of the project was to help the young migrant to experience a deep condition of integration and solidarity. Every morning, before the lessons, all the students met in the Faro theatre hall to discuss together about the most important news of the day or their personal problems (children, home, relationship with their country).

From February to September, three Cineforum rounds were organized (6 meetings each). The title of this meetings was “Could we talk about it, please?”.   The beneficiaries were the students from hairstylist course, but also the students from other professional courses (Italian and immigrants) organized by Faro Foundation during the same period. The aim of this Cineforum was to analyze some important stages of life that different cultures live in different ways by watching movies and understand how differences can live side by side in the same society.

At the end of  the course, in the month of April,a final event was held, conceived as a sort of “showcase”offering the beneficiaries the opportunity to show the outputs and results of their vocational training. The guests were mostly entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises in Rome but also important personalities like Khalid Chaouki, a young parliamentarian and member of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chamber, Ilaria Borletti, Undersecretary for Cultural Heritage.

The visibility of the project has been obtained using the Web. Special contents have been developed and uploaded on the internet site of Il Faro (www.ilfaro.it), in order to disseminate the results of the activities, using a medium that can be easily consulted by everyone. In addition, to publicize the cineforum rounds were distributed over 100 flyers.

Two months after the end of the courses, over 55 percent of students from hairstylist class was working permanently and over 10 percent was taking part to in-depth training courses. Through the cineforum events, Il Faro estimates to have reached more than 100 people.