EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - KORYPHÄEN - Places of work and qualification for the socially excluded

KORYPHÄEN - Places of work and qualification for the socially excluded - AU

Introduction

The initiative KORYPHÄEN is a socio-economic enterprise, run by and for women. It offers employment and qualification to long-term unemployed women in the fields of textile-recycling (transport, sorting, second-hand-shop), tailoring and ironing services and the administration of these fields (office, transport, stock).

According to the needs of the women (e.g. opening hours of local kindergartens and child-care-institutions) employment is offered in flexible time-schedules from 20 to 38,5 hours per week. Tailoring services include manufacturing products of indigo-printed textiles (a traditional technique of the region of Burgenland, the textile printing is done in only one family-enterprise); the products are sold in the second-hand-shop, on local markets and on the occasion of local cultural festivals. The employed women have the opportunity of rotation within the fields of work.

Problem

The socio-economic enterprise offers employment (limited to one year) and qualification for long-term unemployed women. The employment is combined with intensive social-pedagogic supervision and coaching.

The concept takes into consideration the local conditions, mobility-restrictions, deficiencies of qualification and specific facts of female socialization.

As most of the social values are combined with employment, the main objective is the support and promotion of women towards a self-defined and self-responsible planning of work and living.

Description

KORYPHÄEN resulted out of the work of the local women advisory and information center Der Lichtblick, which cared for the project-preparation-work. In September 1994 the concept and financial plan for a socio-economic enterprise for women was developed; important impulses and know-how came from contacts to other social projects in Vienna. (Team Idee, Der Würfel).

The initiative was supported by representatives of the local office of the Labour Market Service (AMS). In the beginning a market-analysis was carried out (inquiry of all relevant institutions, schools and enterprises). The evaluation showed great acceptance of second-hand-trade by the local population and the willingness of inhabitants and local enterprises to support with superfluous textile.

The initiation and starting-phase of the enterprise was accompanied and supervised by the ÖSB-Unternehmensberatung (a counselling agency in the non-profit-sector). The foundation of the association was in June 1995, the official start of work in the tailoring workshop was in Sept., in Oct. 1995 the second-hand shop in the center of the village of Neusiedl was opened.

The evaluation of the first year showed great success in the socio-pedagogic, political and economic targets. In January 1997 KORYPHÄEN applied for extension in order to be able to offer qualification and the opportunities to finish apprenticeship-exams.

Approach

Main objective is to provide work to long-term unemployed women and offer coaching towards a clear personal and vocational orientation, to make them job ready for the regular labour market.

The socio-pedagogic steps are clearing of social deficiencies, support in combining work and family (restructuring family life and child caring), development of specific skills, formulation of personal objectives with regard to profession, learning methods of job-acquisition, trainings in application for jobs.

The steps within the apprenticeship are: for those women who have the formal conditions of attending apprenticeship there is weekly schooling as a preparation for the apprenticeship exam. All the women finished their exams successfully. About 50-60 % of the women working in the initiative get a job or a qualification place after finishing their year at KORYPHÄEN.

Results

Social and Indirect Effects
An enterprise exclusively run by and for women means a new and challenging idea in a rural area and is an important contribution to the professional and personal emancipation of the region. The women employed in the enterprise made the experience, that the reaction of the population was very positive. Although traditional family structures are not easily changed, it was observed that family structures gradually could be reorganized according to the changing situation of the women and they no longer blocked the development of vocational identity and security.

The know-how of the enterprise had some impact on new projects, and in general more initiatives show engagement towards developing projects. Within the first two years big orders could be acquired, f. ex. the fabrication of costumes for a cultural event on Burg Forchtenstein in Burgenland. Within these two years about 70 tons of textile was treated by qualitative waste-management and recycling.

Assessment-Innovation-transferability
Assessment is made every year (annual report to the AMS). In the domain of avoidance of refuse and qualitative recycling two prizes were won: the Environment Prize of the Regional Government of Burgenland and a prize of the Refuse Association of Burgenland. Transferability is possible in rural areas, given the acceptance of the population and the co-operation with local economy.

Prospects
In the socio-political domain: qualitative improvement of the socio-pedagogic coaching and supervision is planned; at the moment different concepts of outplacement of transit-workers are studied. In the economic domain: improvement of the marketing of the indigo-textile-print as an old traditional cultural asset of the region (in tourism or in local museums). A raising of the sales of services is planned up to 20% of the budget.

Contact info

Mrs. Eva Steindl (Project-coordinator), tel. +43 2167 3597

Project start date

01/06/1995

Links

Visit the LOCIN website Read more on the LOCIN initiative

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Social inclusion & integration