Socio-professional integration

Edito

For young people to bring about real change

Young people represent an undeniable asset for the sustainable development of their country. However, they have great difficulty gaining access to employment, and unemployment particularly affects young women, who occupy the most precarious jobs (vulnerable employment and indecent work), further fostering inequality and a risk of social breakdown.

Increasingly, governments are trying to find solutions to ensure a better match between training and the labour market, and thus reduce poverty and social exclusion. But different regions are struggling to develop their economic potential, and education is often inadequate to meet needs.

Helping young people to develop their skills and gain access to a stable professional and social situation is a fundamental challenge if we are to break the vicious cycle of poverty and contribute to building a more egalitarian society. Through socio-professional integration, Louvain Coopération aims to enable these young men and women to acquire their independence, but beyond that, a status and a place in society.

There are countless factors involved: technical skills are important, but interpersonal (socio-emotional) skills play a fundamental role. These factors are highly dependent on family background, gender, social class, geographical, ethnic or religious origins, or disability.

In each of the areas in which we operate, we work with our partners to analyse this context in depth (including the economic and business climate) in order to adapt our support for young people as they seek to integrate into society and the world of work, and to ensure that their skills are put to good use and directed towards the path that best suits them.

Young people are the key players in their integration process, and our aim is to do everything we can to develop their personal skills, encourage them to believe in their potential and launch themselves into the professional world, so that ultimately they bring about real change within their companies.