Is Albania the next big thing?
Date: 5 March 2009
Working Links in Hull were delighted to
welcome a group of visiting Albanians Officials as part of their
study tour last week.
Albania is still arguably the poorest country in
Europe and it has a huge informal economy. It has unemployment
rates of 13.5% and almost 20% of its population live below the
poverty threshold.
The Albanian officials came to see how Working
Links delivered the Pathways contracts and were
particularly interested in our engagement and
provision strategies for lone parents.
During the group visit they met with Lorraine
Race, a jobseeker from Hull who has on-going medical problems. With
a newly acquired teaching diploma , Working Links are helping
Lorraine find a job as a part-time lecturer. Lorraine
confidently spoke to the visiting European group about her barriers
to work, her hopes and fears and how she was supported by Working
Links.
The visit was hosted by David Hawley,
Operations Manager for Pathways in Hull, who said:
“They have immense hurdles to overcome in
Albania but hopefully they picked up some useful information from
their visit to Hull. They seemed to be particularly interested in
meeting our client, Lorraine and hearing about the barriers she
faced and the practical support Working Links had given her in
building her confidence and helping her with her C.V."
Don Bruce, who co-ordinated the visit,
formerly worked with Jobcentre Plus and is now employed by the
European Commission to support the Albanian Government to improve
the current welfare to work service. He said:
“Thank you for the materials you sent to me
following the visit by Albanians as part of their study tour last
week.
It was a pleasure to meet you and your
colleagues, many thanks for your time and letting us see ‘Working
Links’ in operation.
The Albanians have now returned to Tirana and
initial feedback is that their study tour was the most successful
any of them have been on. I know how much they enjoyed their visits
to providers and I hope they will learn from your experience.
Please pass on my thanks to your staff who all contributed to
making the visit a huge success.”