Youth from migrant backgrounds have twice the chance of finding a job if they have been actively accompanied. This is the result of a first evaluation of the programme named “Duo for a Job”, which puts migrant youth in contact with mentors who support them in their search for work.

Of all youth from migrant backgrounds who were accompanied by a mentor with professional experience, 53 percent found a long-lasting job in 12 months. This is a figure twice above average. Since its creation in 2012, “Duo for a Job” coached 380 youth in Brussels.

“In some neighbourhoods of Brussels with many low-skilled immigrant youth, the unemployment rate reaches 60 or 70 percent. These neighbourhoods have become breeding grounds of economic desperation and sociocultural alienation,” explained Matthieu Le Grell, the person in charge of “Duo for a Job”.

The programme is also an opportunity for those providing accompaniment to remain active. In this way, “Duo for a Job” builds social relations and intergenerational solidarity between people who would not otherwise be in contact.

The programme is funded by “Pay-for-success-mechanism”, through which the authorities pay investors interest if the expected results are achieved. This is a first on the European continent.

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