Jobfactory

Promoters:

Robert Roth.

Country:

Switzerland

A for-profit organisation that provides unemployed young people with vocational training, coaching and remunerated internship opportunities directly in the business areas in which it operates, related to production, services and sales.

What solution does the innovation propose?

The organisation offers vocational training to participants in order to improve their personal skills, as well as a combination of practice-oriented professional traineeships and specialised coaching, with the aim to equip them with the right skills and aptitudes to gain a successful start in their professional life.

Recognitions

Robert Roth was the Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation (2005).

Impact evidence

Outputs

Every year, the organisation offers 150 internship positions to young people for an average of 5-6 months, resulting in a total of 300 internships every year.

Outcomes

80% of the participants complete six-month trainings, and 90% of those who successfully complete the internship find stable employment or apprenticeship positions.

Sources

The organisation collects information on the number of young people who find a connection to education or work after participation, but also measures soft parameters through personal interviews and feedback questionnaires.

How does it work?

The methodology has two main pillars:

Internships. Four days a week, students attend remunerated, six-month market-oriented internships in areas such as cooking and restaurant management, administration, housekeeping, printing, information technology, manufacturing, hairdressing, handicrafts and recycling. Jobfactory employs trainees directly in its own workshops and branches; alternatively, youth are employed by the Basel cantonal government.
Coaching. The project also provides professional coaching through its Job Training Foundation, helping youth recognize their talents and develop their capabilities while tackling their weaknesses and deficiencies.