Job program “Iedereen Doet Mee”
Promoting and increasing labour participation among the target group working with disability and medium, long and great distance from the labour market.
Thursday July 16th the Labour Office presented the program “Iedereen Doet Mee” to stakeholders in the job market.
One of the topics that is currently receiving a lot of attention is the introduction of a structured approach to employment participation for the target group with disabilities, mild intellectual disabilities and for those who are medium to long-distance from the labor market. To accomplish this, it is especially important to involve employers in projects and the projects must answer the question of what employers do.
Together with a number of selected employers, opportunities will be created to enable this target group to participate in the labour market through a wage cost subsidy program. The program will ben for 12 months starting in August. Currently participating as pilots are the Buzzy Bees, LVV and Made in Statia. During the presentation, the Director of the Buzzy Bees Ms. Zuwena Suares shared her experience with everyone present.
The mission of the Labour office is to promote and develop the welfare of the residents of St. Eustatius by finding, advertising and providing possible job opportunities and aiding those who struggle financially. The staff would efficiently and diligently work in order to provide quality service to all clients by promotion, advocating participation and inclusion of the entire community no matter their status or disabilities.
In the ideal inclusive labor market in which “Everyone Participates”, people with a distance to the labor market fully cooperate with people without a distance to the labour market, with the same employer, in the same team.
Unfortunately, jobseekers and employers do not always find each other easy. For example, because they literally cannot find each other, because obstacles are expected or because the jobseeker lacks work experience and skills. It mainly concerns those who are dismissed after a detention and the target group with a disability. Furthermore, the lack of legislation and regulations such as participation law, sheltered work and a social workplace make it more difficult for an inclusive labour participation to be accomplished on St. Eustatius.
Together with stakeholders in the job market we wish to guide as many people as possible to work with a vision to better the social and economic situation on the island.