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Equal
Access to Jobs
Prepared by Society of Spread of Knowledge “Missal”, Bulgaria
The training module “Equal Access to Jobs” was developed with the support
of the European Commission Socrates- Grundtvig programme. It was co-ordinated by
the Social Innovation Fund. Bulgaria is one of the partners. The materials were
developed and the training delivered in the town and region of Veliko Turnovo.
Introduction Equal Access to Jobs is about making sure
that workplaces are free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and
harassment and providing programmes to overcome past or present
disadvantage. This means having workplace rules, policies, practices
and behaviours that are fair and do not disadvantage people because they
belong to particular groups. In such an environment, all workers are
valued and respected and have opportunities to develop their full
potential and pursue a career path of their choice. There are group of
people affected by past or continuing disadvantage or discrimination in
employment. As a result they are more likely to be unemployed or working
in lower paid jobs. These groups are:
- Women,
- Members of racial, ethnic, and ethno-religious minority groups,
and
- People with a disability.
The right of work in Bulgaria is guaranteed by the Constitution, chapter 48
and regulated by the labour code and the Law of encourage of employment. The
course “Equal Access to Jobs” continues the good traditions for
“Long Life Learning” and presents the memorandum of the European
Commission on this problem. The main idea is to develop the
understanding of unemployed people regarding access to jobs and
achieving new qualifications. The society in Bulgaria is not very
well prepared to support equal gender opportunities in accessing
employment. This course helped people to understand what they have
to do in order to find such employment. Aim and objectives
The aims and objectives of the project are:
- to ensure that all work practices and behaviours are fair
within the workplace
- to ensure that the work environment is free from all forms
of unlawful discrimination
- to provide employees with information and resources to
enable them to carry out their work
- to provide all staff with equal opportunities to apply for
available jobs, permanent positions, promotion, job rotation
schemes and flexible working arrangements
- to ensure selection processes are transparent and the
methods used are consistent
- to give employees equal access to relevant training and
development opportunities
- to identify special training for unemployed people and help
them gain access to training and development opportunities
The main practical tasks of the training course are:
- The formation of a successful strategy for real work
market
- Developing new job search skills (including web
addresses with this information)
- Raising awareness regarding appropriate behavior during
an interview with an employer;
- Teaching them how to complete job application forms
- Familiarizing them with normative documents about their
rights & responsibilities in the workplace
- Raising awareness of ICT as a source of information
about employment opportunities
Target group
- Women
- Men
- Young people to 29 years old
- People, unemployment more than 12 months
Content of the course “Equal Access to Job”
The content includes the following lessons:
- Familiarisation with the normative documents
(Constitution, Labor code, Low of encourage of
employment, etc.)
- Psychological lessons concerned with overcoming
communication barriers between them and their
employers
- Behaviour skills during the interview with the
employers
- Completion of Job Application forms
- Preparation of CV and introducing themselves
- Options for obtaining new qualifications
Additional information
- National laws and normative documents
dealing with equality between men and women,
legislation on gender equality, ombudsmen,
labour rights, etc.
- Help for the teachers on the preparation of
lesson plans.
- Help for the target group, explaining the
possibilities of self-study.\
Training methods It is very important to underline that during
the educational process computer systems and new
ICTs were used. The following methods were
applied:
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Role-play games
- Feedback
- Assessment of progress
- Searching for information about new job
opportunities on the Internet
- Working in teams
Implementation
The Society of Spread of Knowledge
“Missal” implemented this project in the
towns of Veliko Turnovo and Gorna Orjahovica,
Bulgaria. First of all the training for
trainers was organized in order to teach
them how to use modern information and
communication technologies and especially
the Internet as part of the teaching
process. After that a seminar for twenty
unemployed young people (more than 20
months) was organized. The seminars were
also organized in Veliko Turnovo and Gorna
Orjahovica (town near by Veliko Turnovo).
References
Cordon Judith. Organizational
Behaviour, 1993
Adler Ronald. Communicating at work
www.unesco.org/education
(United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization)
www.hreoc.gov.au (Australian
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission)
www.eeo.nsw.gov.au (Equal
Opportunity in Public Employment)
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