The new “Work and Learn” project offers vulnerable people a perspective thanks to a balanced mix of professional experience and education.

Antwerp marked the official launch of the new “Work and Learn” project, a joint initiative between MolenGeek, Proximus and the iKanbi contact centers. Participants will work part-time as help desk staff. You will receive comprehensive ICT training with the prospect of a permanent position at the end of the process.

With the project, the three parties want to set up a tailor-made training program to help – often vulnerable – people who need work experience and training to enter the job market. This pilot uses a specific methodology tailored to people who are remote from the labor market, such as the long-term unemployed, NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) youth and disadvantaged groups.

This is necessary because, according to the VDAB, which supports the project, 7 out of 100 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 in Flanders are so-called NEET youth. Even young people who neither work nor complete training for a longer period of time are more likely to be unemployed or no longer employed in later life.

Professional experience and IT training

In the first phase, participants have the opportunity to develop into professional contact center agents (help desk employees) for 4 months. You will receive technical training to familiarize yourself with the Proximus environment while gaining experience by participating as a full member of the iKanbi teams. Through this part-time training, they develop not only technical skills but also soft skills.

In a second phase of 11 months, participants will continue to work part-time at iKanbi, supplemented by comprehensive ICT training at BorgerHub, a MolenGeek branch in Borgerhout. Participants receive AWS training that introduces them to cloud computing, enterprise data management, and developing enterprise mobile services and applications. In this way, they are prepared and guided to obtain an AWS certificate.

The aim is to develop the training into a structural program whose methodology can be used at different locations and in different fields of work. The program could be expanded in the future to include training for technicians, back office staff or representatives.