The project aimed to empower members of vulnerable communities and support their socio-professional integration. Oftentimes, migrants and refugees who enrol in the JRS Academy have few or no skills that they can use to access the job market. The Work Up project was consequently developed as a way to empower these individuals to access the job market, through the provision of training.

Qualitative goals:

• Promote theoretical and practical knowledge through training;
• Contribute to the empowerment of migrants and refugees;
• Professional skills development and labour market integration for participants;

Quantitative goals:

• Proportion of people integrated in the labour market after training: 53%;
• Number of partnerships established: 7;
• Number of trainees who obtained a diploma: 73;
• Number of individuals provided with empowerment measures: 88.

The job training offered by the project comprised both theoretical and practical elements. Each training course lasted three to five months, and was built on a solid foundation of personal development support.

Each training course started with a month of personal development training. This was followed by specific trainings, including practical workplace training, in conjunction with project partners. Through this it was possible to train 35 migrants and refugees in the three areas of focus. All training courses were complemented by the provision of training in job search techniques.

Following completion of the training, the profile of each trainee was assessed. Together with the JRS Employment Department the project conducted interviews with trainees in order to place them in the labour market.

Through the project’s activities, 88 migrants and refugees participated in empowerment measures. In addition, 73 trainees participated in the training courses, which enabled them to obtain a diploma. A total of nine training sessions were held in three areas of focus: four in the area of elderly care, three in the field of cafeteria skills and two in the area of sales assistance.

This project promoted the development of the personal, social and professional skills of migrants and refugees who participated.

Most of the participants lived in the area of greater Lisbon and so were placed into the labour market in this region, which also served to strengthen the local economy.

During the project evaluations were carried out across various dimensions, including through the assessment of skills and knowledge acquired by trainees in the theoretical training, and through the practical workplace training.

An external evaluation was carried out by consultancy group Stone Soup, based on a participatory process whose axis of work was the project's Theory of Change and internationally agreed parameters within the scope of DAC Quality Standards for Development Evaluation / OECD and the European Commission. The evaluation analysed five dimensions: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact.

According to the results of a questionnaire carried out as part of Stone Soup's evaluation, the project led to an increase in self-knowledge, self-reflection, self-esteem and self-confidence on the part of project participants, and facilitated the development of better support networks. It was also shown that as a result of participating in the project individuals felt that they were improving personal relationships, developing social skills, increasing their technical knowledge and employability, and better defining their own 'life project'.

The project's trainees were mostly women (85%), from Africa (95%) or had finished their second cycle of schooling (50%). 31% of participants were Latin American, and 1% came from Asia. The majority were aged between 30 and 40 years old. All were migrants / refugees.

• The project was funded by EEAGrants, to a total amount of 127 205.58 EUR.
  The team consisted of one project coordinator, one staff member and teachers as training providers, either as paid staff or as volunteers.
• The project was run under the Active Citizens Programme and managed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in collaboration with the Bissaya Barreto Foundation.
• JRS partnered with Uniself (private company within the food sector), Association Aguinenso (Association of Guinean migrants), Casa Nossa Senhora da Vitória (private institution of social solidarity) and Jerónimo Martins (major retailer) for the development of the project.