JOBLINGE is a Germany-wide non-profit initiative. It has been supporting young people with difficult starting conditions for more than 13 years. With the financial support of the municipal job center MainArbeit in Offenbach, the initiative has been successful in combating youth unemployment: 88 percent of the young people enter working life.
Head of Social Affairs Martin Wilhelm is delighted with the successful concept: "Placing young people in companies straight away and providing them with an experienced employee to help them realize their career idea is a great idea.
JOBLINGE brings together numerous forces from business, government and society to support young, long-term unemployed people. The goals of the program are to create real job opportunities for the participants and to integrate them into the job market and society in the long term. JOBLINGE creates opportunities so that young people can shape their future and lead a self-determined life. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought further challenges to the training market. Thanks to a rapid switch to digital learning content, online courses and the provision of suitable equipment, participants continued to be well supported and placed in training.
Strong partners ensure success
JOBLINGE has already accepted over 13,000 young people into the program at 32 locations across Germany. In Offenbach, 557 young people have been part of the program so far. Thanks to the municipal job center MainArbeit, an extensive partner network and a lot of voluntary support, 88 percent have managed to start a self-determined life, and 92 percent are still in their training company after six months. This is a rate that is particularly important to JOBLINGE, because only sustainable training success ensures long-term prospects. Strong partners and networks that pull together are indispensable. "Right now, we need innovative impetus and strong networks to show young people that they are needed and that it is worth working on their prospects. Especially in times of crisis, social commitment means that a wide variety of players work together for the future of young people," says Sonja Sauler, Site Coordinator at the JOBLINGE location in Offenbach.
Volunteer mentoring as a success factor
One of the most important pillars of the JOBLINGE program is mentoring. Volunteer mentors, who are employees from a wide range of companies, accompany their mentees (the young people) for six months on their way into the world of work. Their role is particularly important as they have no public mandate, but work with the young people voluntarily and unpaid, spending time and sharing their own professional expertise. David Lwande, a former participant at the Offenbach site, is also grateful for this: "The mentoring helped me a lot: a new perspective, a third opinion and the professional experience were a great support. My mentor also supported me in creating a short video during the application phase - really cool!"
Participants and mentors form tandems that work together to develop new perspectives for the young people and try out new patterns of behavior. The mentors take on different roles depending on the individual needs of the participants. Above all, however, they are confidants and crisis managers.
Support for self-help and training
One of the cornerstones of the JOBLINGE vision is empowering people to take responsibility for themselves. In order to overcome the seemingly insurmountable hurdle of "training", JOBLINGE challenges participants from day one to overcome ever higher hurdles and trusts them to do so. Participants should become self-determined and active achievers. They should learn to overcome personal obstacles, work towards success and accept feedback and criticism: They should take responsibility for themselves.
This was also the case for David, who was able to turn his hobby, music, into his dream apprenticeship thanks to JOBLINGE. In September 2022, he will start his apprenticeship as an event technician. "At JOBLINGE, I finally learned how to get structure back into my life: from writing emails and presenting myself correctly to self-organization. The coaches took me seriously and helped me to find the right career path for me."
Wilhelm notes: "Many young people like David faced major challenges during the coronavirus pandemic: a lack of internship opportunities, the transition to digital and also personal fears that can make things more difficult. So it's great that the support is paying off."