DUO for a JOB is a non-profit association that brings young migrant jobseekers in contact with experienced workers. The programme started in 2013 in Brussels and was the first Social Impact Bond in continental Europe. The Social Impact Bond provided the necessary start-up funding from public and private investors and allowed the association to grow into a fast-growing social enterprise. DUO for a JOB is co-financed by the European Union. By 2023, DUO for a JOB had 17 branches covering 13 Belgian, 3 French and 1 Dutch cities.
DUO for a JOB – Belgium, France, and the Netherlands
Abstract
DUO for a JOB is a free intergenerational and intercultural mentoring programme. It aims at enhancing access of young immigrant jobseekers to the labour market and to foster social cohesion by connecting them to older professionals. The jobseeker must be aged 18 to 33 and have a non-EU nationality and/or one (grand)parent born outside of the EU. They must have a valid long-term residency permit and speak either English, Dutch, or French. The mentor must be over 50 years old and have professional experience.
Potential mentors and jobseekers first attend an information session and a co ordinator from DUO for a JOB assesses their background, expectations, and personality. The mentor also attends a training course comprising eight modules of half a day where they learn about the methodology of DUO for a JOB and key mentor qualities and are sensitised to the jobseekers’ socio economic realities. Mentors can meet every two months with each other to exchange their experiences (compulsory two times per mentee). Following the intake interview, the jobseeker is matched with a mentor, based on the sector, interests, spoken languages, and personality. These steps take between 15 days and 1 month.
Over the course of 6 months, the mentor and jobseeker meet 2 to 3 hours a week. The duo starts by setting up a realistic and practical career action plan for the jobseeker. The mentor is there to provide the young individual with the necessary tools for the job search. DUO for a JOB also offers workshops on job interview preparation and conducts interview simulations with the help of Human Resources (HR) volunteers from partner companies, who help with writing and reviewing CV’s and cover letters. Some branches provide speech therapy and professional help to mentors on how to address psychological well-being of jobseekers. Mentors also get the opportunity (if relevant) to enhance their numeric skills, participate in additional workshops on cultural time perception at work, and have a guidebook at their disposal written by mentors.
The Brussels Employment Observatory evaluated the programme three years after its initiation. The employment results of the 322 young immigrants who participated were compared to a control group composed of more than 4 000 job seekers with the same demographics (age, gender, nationality) recently registered at the Brussels Employment Office Altiris with the same profile. The participants’ employment rate was 28% higher and around 44% had a stable job (of more than 3 months) within 6 months after finishing the programme, which was twice the share of the comparison group. The 2022 DUO for a JOB country reports show that since 2013, seven out of ten participants have found a job, internship or education path within the first 6 months of finishing the programme. One out of two have found a stable job within the first 12 months. Participants also report feeling more independent and confident.
Further reading
[1] Dermine, T. (2019), “Contrat à impact social : une opportunité pour le financement de l’action sociale ?”, Informations sociales, Vol. n° 199/1, pp. 116-123, https://doi.org/10.3917/inso.199.0116.
[2] DUO for a job (2023), DUO for a job, https://www.duoforajob.fr/en/home/.
[3] KOIS (2023), DUO for a job: the first SIB in continental Europe, https://koisinvest.com/project/duo-for-a-job-the-first-sib-in-continental-europe/.
[4] OECD (2016), “Understanding Social Impact Bonds”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2016/06, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7e48050d-en.
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