Description (EN): The Joint Employment-Driven Initiative (JEDI) project aims to enhance the employment in the Romanian-Hungarian (ROHU) cross-border (CB) region through improving the conditions of vocational training and by implementing a set of activities to balance the supply and demand side of the labour market and enhance the mobility of the workforce in the targeted CB area. The project has a complex approach in order to ensure that the existing imbalances in the labour market are handled in a sustainable way in the long run. In the framework of the project, new mechanisms will be set up among the CB labour market actors that can be easily extended after the project’s closure and replicated in other CB regions facing similar problems in the EU.
Based on the available statistical data and the findings of the Interreg V-A Romania-Hungary Cooperation Programme (Programme), employment represents a significant problem in the ROHU CB area: the activity rate is low and the (long-term) unemployment rate is high in significant parts of the region. However, in the southern section of the CB region another common challenge emerged during the last decade: the lack of skilled labour which in some sectors poses an obstacle to the further growth of enterprises and a serious threat to the day-to-day operation of companies. A specific problem of the region connected to this is that the institutions offering vocational and adult trainings are not attractive enough to students, partly because of the low prestige of the professions they teach and the obsolete or missing infrastructure on the training sites they use. The Programme has identified the lack of a CB labour market as one of the biggest challenges, and consequently, the development of a joint labour market as one of the biggest potentials of the CB region.
The overall objective of the project is to enhance the employment in the ROHU CB region by creating favourable conditions for a balanced labour market in the long term.
Specific objectives:Fostering the balance of supply and demand on the ROHU CB labour marketImproving the conditions and offer of vocational trainings in the ROHU CB regionBoosting and multiplying the mobility of the workforce between the Romanian and Hungarian side of the border (especially Csongrád and Timiş counties) by increasing the connectivity of institutions and stakeholders influencing employment in the ROHU CB regionThe project will create state of the art conditions for vocational trainings in the region by developing five sites: two completely new buildings will be constructed, one premise will be reconstructed and expanded, and two existing buildings will be improved with new equipment necessary for offering high quality and practical trainings. It will also contribute to the development of a joint CB labour market in Csongrád and Timiş counties by various activities that aim to facilitate the process of merging the currently separate labour markets on the two sides of the border. The novelty of the project is that these activities will target not only the actual jobseekers but students of secondary education and adult (mostly vocational) training institutions as well. The JEDI project will bring together all of the relevant institutions in the field of employment and training in the CB area, thus, it will establish an institutional network on two levels: by matching the employment and training institutions with the employers in the region in order to provide a workforce (with the desirable skills) based on their previously examined needs; and by connecting the different institutions from the Romanian and Hungarian side of the border. To better match the employers’ demands with the supply, the CB mobility of the workforce also needs to be enhanced and the project foresees various activities to support that, with a permanent Info Point and a website among them.
The total eligible budget of the FA project is € 6,531,
618. The breakdown of this budget between the project partners is as follows: SZSZC – € 919,288; DKMT – € 508,390; SZCSE – € 1,242,950; HE – € 2,370,690; CJT – € 1,340,300 and CCIAT – € 150,
000.
In the CN phase, the focus was on the elaboration of the FA and the documentation needed to comply with the rules set in the GfA for a flagship project. Also, a Joint Employment Strategy was prepared to underline the ‘soft’ activities that will be implemented in the FA phase and ensure synergy with the objectives of the Programme’s strategy.
Envisaged activities and WPs of the Full Application phase:Project managementCommunication and disseminationCreating state of the art conditions for vocational trainings – Five training sites will be developed. Activities: public procurement for infrastructure, procurement procedure for site supervision service, construction works, purchase of equipment, supervising the execution, operation of the training sites (e.g. cost of staff)Mapping, networking and joint development of the labour market of the target area – On an individual level, people – jobseekers, but also students – must connect with companies (SMEs, for example) that can hire them and vocational schools that can provide training for them from both sides of the border. The main objective of this activity is to promote the creation of a joint CB labour market through a theoretical (acquiring a deeper understanding about the needs of the target groups through thorough research) and a practical phase (providing information and professional support for the individuals about the scope of their possibilities). Activities: study tour, employment fairs, Info Point, etc.Joint institutional cooperation in the field of employment and training – On an institutional level, relevant actors of the field should work together in harmony to create a unified cross-border labour market fabric that can be easily navigated by them – and the students/jobseekers. This WP will encourage and support professional cooperation between the interested stakeholders of the cross-border labour market (e.g. employment centres, tax offices, social aid organizations, vocational training schools). Activities: seminars, conferences, etc.
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Expected Outputs (EN): - A cross-border regional strategy focusing on the lack of skilled labourers.
- Improved conditions for vocational trainings in the region by developing training sites for the sectors where the lack of labour force is the most pressing.
- Strongly cooperating actors and a network of relevant institutions in the field of employment and training of the cross-border area.
- The creation of an Info Point in Szeged, on the premises of the DKMT, that will collect information about all relevant aspects of the labour market in Romania and Hungary and disseminate it.
- Enhanced cross-border mobility of the workforce.
The foreseen activities will all contribute directly or indirectly to reaching the programme output indicator (CO44 Labour Market and Training: Number of participants in joint local employment initiatives and joint training) because the project will implement a complex matrix of activities and events which involve participants from both inside and outside of the project partners’ organizations. The type of events will be various: job fairs, workshops, surveys, study tours, study visits, seminars, conferences, consultations, orientation events, etc. According to the planned activities, the target value of 2,685 participants in joint local employment initiatives and joint trainings will be fulfilled.
The activities will contribute to the fulfilment of the 8/b programme result indicator (Employment rate in the eligible area as a percentage of the working age population) because their objectives and planned results are designed with a focus on the enhancement of employment in the target area. Some results will have a more direct contribution to the result indicator (e.g. job fairs, direct assistance for jobseekers, students’ orientation events, etc.) while other activities will have a long term positive effect on raising the employment rate (e.g. improving the conditions for vocational trainings in the much-needed skills and professions).
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