Cuerda de vida trenzado ½" x 20 metros 17 Cinta de seguridad

Not so long ago it was unheard of for a private commercial company to play a role in the mediation of the long-term unemployed in France. But that all changed when French president Sarkozy announced his large-scale ‘Plan Banlieues’ to rejuvenate troubled suburbs by intensively helping many tens of thousands of young people look for proper education, internships and jobs.

And it just so happens that helping people far removed from the job market find jobs is what USG restart is specialised in. In 2006 Assedic, the French benefits pay- ments administrator, selected USG restart for a project in the department of Val d’oise. The objective was to help 4,400 unemployed people secure a job within two years and the successful approach did not go unnoticed. In 2008 employment agency ANPE directed another 4,300 unemployed people in the Ile-de-France and Picardie regions to USG restart.

And last year USG restart was also awarded a leading role in the intermediation of 3,800 young people from the trou- bled suburbs that Sarkozy is targeting. The objective is to improve the willingness to work and position in the job market of young people from various districts in France by making them sign a contract to prove their commitment and by arranging practical training courses and assisting them intensively along the way. The contract is a break- through for USG restart, a name which has since become widely known by French civil servants.

“Doing business in a socially responsible way is often still confused with charity,” says John herfkens, general manager of USG restart in the Netherlands. “In our eyes it is not about sending a cheque to some charity project in Africa. In essence it is about setting up business in such a way that you are not doing any unnecessary harm to society or, better yet, that you are using your

4 4

“I WoUlD Go So FAr AS To SAy ThAT WE coUlD EVEN

mAkE A DIFFErENcE For ThoSE PEoPlE”

company’s means in such a way that you are making a positive and structural contribution to society. USG People is good at employment mediation. We do that for instance for highly skilled people with great job opportunities, so why not also do it for people who are far removed from the job market? After all, we can do that too. I would go so far as to say that we could even make a difference for those people. At the same time we are talking about a healthy business; otherwise it would not be called doing business in a socially responsible way.”

herfkens’ findings about the role of the staffing sector are underlined by Eurociett, the European organisation representing the interests of the staffing organisations. A Eurociett study of the job markets in the six biggest staffing markets in the European Union showed that staffing organisations play a large role in promoting social cohesion. They provide outsiders with an oppor- tunity to access the job market, which in turn promotes labour participation and diversity. This is mainly due to their easy access as you do not have to have a network to go to a staffing agency. So for many people a staffing agency is how they initially get acquainted with the job market. In France, for instance, no less than 87 per cent

of temporary workers did not have a job before working for a staffing agency.

Eurociett statistics on the six countries show that people far removed from the job market are well-represented in the files of staffing agencies. Some 28 per cent of the labour force with a disability, 26 per cent of older workers and 23 per cent of the working population from different ethnic backgrounds found a job through a staffing agency. content in The hague knows why workers from different ethnic backgrounds are quick to approach staffing agencies. The company opened a branch in the city’s

Schilderswijk neighbourhood at the beginning of 2008, convinced that many highly skilled people from different ethnic backgrounds would be available to work for some of the company’s large and prestigious clients. content knows that the level of education of this target group is often not a problem. Instead, they often lack a network, job references and presentation skills. That is why content arranges job interview training to enable candidates to make a better impression on potential employers. This benefits candidates by increasing their chances of getting a job, as well as content in that it is able to place the candidate.

So it is not charity but business. That is also the reason why USG restart is the force behind the ‘Wajongeren’ campaign in the Netherlands aimed at helping to improve the image of young people with a disability who have been declared partly or fully unable to work. “We have substituted the somewhat negative term ‘Wajong’ with ‘G force’ and the campaign shows that these G forces are driven and motivated workers. The campaign is aimed at building up the confidence of these young people and encouraging employers to hire more of them. most companies with 20 or more employees have room for a

‘Wajongeren’ employee,” says herfkens. The USG restart coaches assist both the employer and employee and are paid a fee for this service. The campaign’s objective is to place a thousand ‘Wajongeren’ in a number of months and USG restart will be responsible for a substantial part of this.

Another project supported by the company that should not be considered charity is the Dutch homeless cup, a football competition for homeless people. The project uses football as a means to promote re-integration. “These people do have some kind of roof over their heads so we are not talking about drifters who sleep in

CSR

“I divorced my husband about four years ago and ended up on the streets with my son Peter, who was 16 at the time. We usually stayed the night with friends, and slept in the car every once in a while. occasionally I worked as a cleaner in the tropical swim- ming pool here in the area. my son would help out too. When I finally got a new place last year, social services referred me to USG restart. They looked into what I would be good at and arranged a job for me in homecare. It is very rewarding work and the people really appreciate it that you’re there. USG restart also helped my son find a job at a car cleaning company. Both of us are definitely on the right track.”

“PEoPlE rEAlly APPrEcIATE IT ThAT yoU’rE ThErE”