Donegal County, Ireland—
In Donegal County, Ireland, the Women’s Integration Skills and Employment (WISE) project was implemented to provide a range of free services to support women (re)entering the labour market.
Since WISE commenced, almost 480 women have accessed its services and 155 of them have been assisted into employment. Over 70% of women who found a job have sustained employment in the long-term.
The key objective of the Women’s Integration Skills and Employment (WISE) project was to help women who are furthest from the labour market (re-)enter employment, undertake training or become self-employed.
As part of the WISE project, all participants were assigned a dedicated personal advisor free of charge. These advisors supported the women in practical areas such as writing effective CVs, improving their interview skills and understanding employment contracts. Advisors also guided the women in accessing suitable training programmes and educational opportunities or becoming self-employed.
Furthermore, the WISE team motivated and built confidence in the women as some faced anxiety regarding the labour market. In addition to personal services, WISE assessed the abilities and interests of clients and subsequently screened positions with local employers to find a match between job opportunities and the clients’ profiles. The team also supported clients for up to six months after they were employed and assisted these women in getting public funding for training and childcare.
The project was implemented in the Donegal County, from May 2017 to April 2020. The project was co-founded by the European Social Fund.
Since WISE commenced, almost 480 women have accessed its services and 155 of them have been assisted into employment. Over 70% of women who found a job have sustained employment in the long-term. Prior to joining the project, many of these women had no work experience and insufficient education to find a job. The project helped women who were unemployed and felt inadequate to return to work and earn a living. In 2019, the programme won the AONTAS (the Irish National Adult Learning Organisation) STAR Award under the “sustainable employment category”.
One of the key success factors of the WISE project has been the dedicated and personalised services offered to participating women, including personal and career development services as well as confidence and motivational building support. Moreover, a key element of the programme is the provision of support both before and up until six months after they enter employment.
A key challenge has been how to reach out to and convince women to participate in the programme. To address this issue, it is imperative that the service is completely private and confidential with data protection as a key priority.
OECD (2022), "Future-proofing adult learning systems in cities and regions: A policy manual for local governments", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2022/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/11fa26cc-en.
