Filling the Gap: Moving Forward from the Vicious Cycle of Social Exclusion and Poverty  for the Inhabitants of Ponte Mammolo Gathering in Rome

Project location: Italy, Rome
Project start date: June 2015 - Project end date: April 2016
Project number: 2015-009
Beneficiary: PRIME Italia ONLUS

PROJECT TIMELINE: From May 2015 to April 2016

PRIME Italia deals with promoting social and labor inclusion of refugees living in Rome, supporting their entering and re-entering in the labor market.
The Spazio per l'impiego activity aims at providing guidance and orientation to refugees and help them in job placement, through:

· Identification of expectations, skills and competencies that can be offered on the Italian labour market;
· Meetings to identify business needs and drafting of the Curriculum Vitae;
· Support in finding employment, entering the CV database;
· Creating contacts with firms and privates and develop agreements for the employment of refugees.

During the period of implementation, more than 250 people (15% female) have requested the services of PRIME Italia. Out of 250 refugees the 19% are coming from Eritrea, 9% from Senegal, 7% from Somali and 7% from Mali.
PRIME Italia have identified around 25 refugees in a year who have benefit of a period of internship, 10 of them thanks to the funds of Peretti foundation.
To increase the possibility of find a job, PRIME Italia have organized during the period of the project, three course of pre-driving of 3-4 months per course. At the end of the course, the refugees who pass with success the final exam are supported with the inscription at the official driving school, in order to sustain the exam of theory (40 questions with multiple answers), receive practical driving lessons, and sustain the practical exam of driving.
Since the beginning of 2015 PRIME Italia was also able to support 10 persons in getting the driving licence type C, which enables to drive the tracks. Being a very expensive course very few people have the possibility to get this licence that is why this course represents a great opportunity for the refugees to find a job in a less competitive environment. 2 of the 10 courses have been paid with the funds of Peretti foundation.

Detailed description of the activities implemented and of the methodologies applied

The "Spazio per l'impiego" Service - job placement service and Internships
The "Spazio per l'impiego" Service is open every Saturday morning, from 10:00 to 13:00. Every Saturday an average 15 refugees are welcomed by 6-7 volunteers and supported in writing or updating their CVs, in looking for job opportunities, in applying to vacancies or searching for training.
PRIME Italia consolidates partnerships with small and large companies located in Rome, in order to launch social and labor inclusion programs and starting training programs. During the year of implementation PRIME Italia focused his work on the inhabitants of Ponte Mammolo shantytown "Comunità della Pace", unobstructed in May 2015.
Starting from August 2015, the first traineeships were launched within companies such as IKEA Anagnina, Leroy Merlin Tiburtina and the Brewery "Birradamare".
Traineeships are period of training on the job, lasting generally four or six months, useful for the acquisition of new skills to use for entering or re-entering in the labor market, and with a financial contribution in favor of the students.
People involved in these activities can be youth waiting for their first job in Italy, or even adults with many years of work experience in their country of origin and in Italy but, as a result of personal problems and past traumas, excluded from the labor market and, consequentially, from the social and economic society in which they live.
The internships realized thanks to the support of Peretti Foundations saw the involvement of people from five different countries: Somalia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Egypt and mostly Eritrea.
Before the start of the training period, PRIME Italia volunteers, guided by the project coordinator, have involved refugees in job orientation paths and skills assessment to detect their work and training experiences in Italy and in their own countries, and to highlight their aspirations and attitudes, in order to identify a professional growth path.
The project coordinator in collaboration with the candidate and the company who will welcome the future apprentice, defines the "training projects" with detailed goals, the method of apprenticeship and the skills to be acquired by the end of the period. The training project is then shred with the Municipality of Rome, the public office promoter of the internships.
Internships have been periodically monitored by PRIME Italia through regular meetings with the students and with the company tutor, which steadily follows the trainee's activities and supervise progresses and also any critical issues.
Companies involved in this project are: "Ikea Anagnina" and "Leroy Merlin Tiburtina", big firms located in Rome, dealing with the sale of household products; "Birradamare" located in Fiumicino, dealing with the production of beer and malt cultivation; the restaurant "Grandma Bistrot" and "Ex Novo" shop, located in Rome.

Courses of pre-driving school for refugees

During the period of implementation of the project, PRIME Italia have organized three courses of pre-driving. Each course lasted about 3-4 months, twice a week for a total of thirty classes a course, and organized in two levels: beginners and advanced, for who has already some concepts of driving or has already a driving license in his country which cannot be converted in Italy.
The classes are structured with frontal lessons, using the official material offered by the Automobil Club Rome. During the courses several tests are planned to monitor the level of learning of the students.
Once the students have finalized PRIME Italia courses they are ready to be inscribed at the official public exams.
Among the students who gets the driving licence type B, the ones who wants to continue the process are supported with the inscription to the courses to get the driving licence type-C, and to get the CQC with which they are enable to use the licence C for work.

Results obtained

The "Spazio per l'impiego" Service - job placement service and Internships
At the end of the traineeship programs, it was evident that the internships activated in favor of the (ex) inhabitants of Ponte Mammolo, have been a very important and useful tools of social and labor inclusion for them.
All the beneficiaries involved in the project have strengthened their abilities and they felt welcomed in a work environment: they learned the tasks of warehousemen, workman, brewer assistant and pastry chef. Aside from technical skill, they also learned many transversal skills, such as work both in autonomy and within in a work group, in formal or informal contexts.
This has allowed them to improve the understanding and expression of the Italian language, to socialize with colleagues with whom they have also established relations of friendship. The training have enabled the beneficiaries to acquire new skills in the labor market and improved their employability.
Furthermore, at the end of the training period two beneficiaries were hired under fixed-term employment contracts. Luel Dawit, a young Eritrean hosted for a period of training at Ikea Anagnina, has been hired in the warehouse logistics department. G.Egizabiher T.Michel Bahata, a fifty years Eritrean man, unemployed for many years, at the end of the traineeship at Leroy Merlin Tiburtina, has been hired as sale assistant. Both of them are still working in these companies.
All the traineeship programs have been concluded with positive feedbacks both by beneficiaries and companies.

Courses of pre-driving school for refugees

Three courses have been organized during the period of implementation (April - June 2015; September - December 2015; January - April 2016). In total 645 people have participated at the selection, a simple test to evaluate the level of Italian knowledge. 145 have been admitted to the courses.
52 refugees have been supported with the inscription at the official driving school, in order to sustain the exam of theory (quiz with multiple answers), receive practical driving lessons, and sustain the practical exam of driving. 31 of them have already finalized the program successfully.
Since the beginning of 2015 PRIME Italia was also able to support 10 people in getting the driving licence type C, to drive the tracks. 2 of the 10 courses have been paid with the funds of Peretti foundation and they have finalized the program successfully obtaining the driving licence C and the CQC which enables them to use the licence for work (licence CQC).