Case Study: RomaniaEducation of youth to attain better paying jobs
background
In conjunction with Hope and Homes Romania, we are involved in facilitating life-changing educational camps in Baia Mare. Through volunteers from companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, Netflix, Apple, IBM, and others, we create educational camps for vulnerable and abandoned youth.
Objectives
- Improve youth’s job prospects by improving their English, computer, and life skills
- Increase youth’s feelings of being seen, valued, and affirmed so that relationships and social interactions will be better
- Build trust and a positive relationship between Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) staff, County Child Protection Agency (CCPA), and the youth
Scope and methodology
Volunteer Recruitment and Stakeholder Commitment
- Engage our Fortune 500 volunteers and get them involved in brainstorming and planning with us
- Carry out a volunteer needs assessment for the project and begin recruitment of specific skills for project success
- Training of our volunteers
- Training of local Romanian volunteers
- Outline outcomes for volunteers in other training capacities
Our work in Romania:
English: Our team of volunteers taught English skills to the community as a way to help them find jobs outside of Romania and in other countries in the EU.
Computer: Through the generous support of Salesforce.org and a donation of 24 computers over 2 years, we established a computer program in Romania. Our focus was teaching the community job-related computer skills such as resume building, job searching, Microsoft Office and Google Suite. Our volunteers also taught business skills to HHC staff and how to better use technology in their work.
Workforce Development skills: Our skilled volunteers focused on teaching soft skills to the community. These skills included: job interview skills, career planning, budgeting, and others.
Resiliency Training and Social Impact: Throughout different forums all participants (V2I volunteers, local volunteers, HHC staff etc.) introduced discussions about shame, vulnerability, empathy, the ways in which we construct false stories to make sense of confusing or difficult situations, and much more. Some full days were set aside for play and social bonding with all participants. Special resiliency training sessions were set up between HHC staff and CCPA to help align their impact on the children and further develop their working relationship.
our measured impact
- On the whole, the youth and young adults’ English listening and speaking skills improved
- English skills improved in every category except for pronunciation
- 6 of the 7 young adults who completed the questionnaire have applied for at least 1 new job since the V2I program finished
- Two of the young adults have started new jobs since the program with V2I finished
- One of the two young adults who has entered a new job since the program with V2I finished has a salary increase from under 1,000 lei/month to between 1,500-2,000 lei/month which has led to a very high salary satisfaction
- In terms of the five young adults who are in the same job, 3 people stayed in their job because they like their job and the remaining 2 people have stayed in their job because they have not found anything better
Observed Impact by HHC
“Our partnership with V2I provided us with the opportunity to re-engage with the roots of our work and the source of our passion – working directly with children and young adults and helping them reach their full potential by offering our support and being more present in their lives and daily activities.”
“This has helped us create a network of dedicated volunteers among local high school students, which we believe is going to play a significant part in involving the community in extending a helping hand to children and young adults who are or have been part of the child protection system or live in disadvantaged communities in our town. Our partnership with V2I has empowered local young people to give back to the community, to pay more attention to the needs of the underprivileged, to be more assertive and be actively involved in changing lives, while improving their skills in English and computer science.”
“The project initiated with V2I last year and continued this year has reminded us of the essence or our work, beyond all the other activities we are involved in at a much larger scale. It has also prompted us to pay a bit more attention to the young adults leaving care not only by providing them with support services that are essential for their survival and growth within the society and community, but also with the other kind of support – being there for them, giving them advice, sharing experiences and steering them towards a healthy path in life.”
Hope and Homes for Children
Staff