Bucovina Institute Association

Bucovina Institute for Social Partnership Association is a non-governmental organization established in 2011. The mission of the Bucovina Institute is to support the sustainable development of communities in Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, by concluding partnerships for learning, organizing and conducting training programs and promoting education. continue.

The objectives of the association include:

  • the creation of programs to facilitate intercultural learning, cross-border cooperation and the exchange of experience in the field of the social economy and the employment of vulnerable people;
  • supporting young people and adults in rural areas, migrants, minorities and people with disabilities to ensure access to all forms of learning in the labor market
  • promoting regional and community development by conducting qualification, retraining, further training, specialization, apprenticeship courses, and setting up skills assessment and certification programs with access for all social categories;
  • organizing volunteer activities for the development of work skills and thematic training for the prevention of human trafficking, bullying and segregation of children with disabilities and Roma in schools;
  • providing accredited social support services for the social inclusion of people at risk of poverty;
  • administration of grants for start-ups in the social economy, supporting since 2015 the creation and development of 10 social economy structures.

Training offer:

  • Training of trainers – specialization courses with ANC certification
  • Elderly caregivers at home – qualification course with ANC certification
  • Trade worker – qualification course with ANC certification
  • Waiter – qualification course with ANC certification
  • Computer skills – initiation courses with ANC certification
  • Community Champion – courses accredited by the Ministry of Education and conducted in partnership with the House of the Teaching Staff “George Tofan” Suceava
  • Non-formal training courses for anti-bullying, anti-trafficking and segregation prevention activities in schools
  • Volunteer internships

Services:

  • Writing and implementing projects for financing from non-reimbursable funds;
  • Consultancy for the establishment and development of non-governmental organizations;
  • Labor market counseling and mediation for people with disabilities;
  • Administration of grants for start-ups in the social economy.

Social services: Center for social inclusion – Community assistance services – WISE – social service licensed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Justice according to the new standards (Social service code 8899CZ- PN-V in the Nomenclature of social services in Romania).

Member of European professional networks: Social Firms Europe CEFEC, European Basic Skills Network – EBSN, European Anti Poverty Network – EAPN, FONSS Federation, RISE Romania.

Since 2011, the Bucovina Institute has organized the activities of the Together Club, a structure that functions as a day center for adults with socio-psychiatric disabilities in Suceava, carrying out activities to develop civic and communication skills, creative-occupational workshops, computer use and communication in a foreign language. Also, psychological, legal and social, vocational counseling, vocational training and labor market mediation services are offered.

Since March 2019, the Bucovina Institute is a licensed provider of social services for WISE employment, offering information, evaluation, counseling, professional training, apprenticeships, certification and mediation on the labor market.

The categories of beneficiaries of the Bucovina Institute are: people who are at risk (mainly people with disabilities, Roma people, young NEETs, people with addictions, school dropouts and victims of human trafficking).

Every year, the Bucovina Institute supports over 120 beneficiaries for insertion on the labor market. For each of them, the Institute signs contracts and maintains specific documentation for registration, evaluation, counseling, support provided and exit from the program, depending on the assigned service package.

Beneficiaries use the services of the Bucovina Institute in the following ways:

  • directly at the association’s headquarters or by online access
  • peer to peer (from one beneficiary to another)
  • through information campaigns organized by the association
  • referral from public institutions and local partners
  • by direct identification in the community

Within the insertion, counseling and training process, the Bucovina Institute uses a set of tools developed, standardized and validated for each service offered and specific registration and evaluation platforms (https://www.projectsepal.com). 

After registration, the beneficiary is initially assessed for profiling (for young NEETs the profiling is carried out by AJOFM based on protocols), then an initial counseling is done based on demonstrated skills and competences, willingness to work and justification of previous experience, if applicable (a number of specific tests are also applied here).

Together with the beneficiary, the Institute carries out a vocational training route, either by participating in a series of courses, apprenticeships or skills assessment sessions for certification. After the validation of competencies and skills, mediation on the labor market begins (CV completion, interview preparation, motivation letters, visits to employers, etc.), supervision in the first weeks and monitoring for 6 months after employment. Each beneficiary receives a certification of the steps taken in the labor market insertion program and an assessment of 10 skills needed in the workplace (JOB REQUEST).

The experts involved in the insertion process are:

  • Employment services manager (social worker with communication / information responsibilities, coordination of the local support network (LSC), recruitment and diagnosis)
  • Vocational advisor (skills assessment, profiling, documentation, service package referral and certificate issuance)
  • Labor market insertion mediator (trainer, coach and employment mediator)

In addition to the three people on the permanent team, the Bucovina Institute also works with: a part-time psychologist for counseling, specific assessment and licensed testing, three trainers and three supervisors at work.

The main challenges of the Bucovina Institute in 2021 are the development and maintenance of the services created and the support of the establishment of social economy structures.

Contact details Bucovina Institute for Social Partnership Association