A decade on and more than 500 referrals for homeless people later, the project has already placed 122 people on the conventional job market, some of them with more than one contract. In total, there have already been more than 149 employment contracts, to which must be added other short-term contracts, or those that don't involve Social Security contributions.
Plataforma + Emprego works as part of the support network for the inclusion of homeless people in Porto (called Núcleo de Planeamento e Intervenção Sem-Abrigo do Porto), which brings together almost 100 organizations from the Cidade Invicta, working together for this cause.
The project receives referrals from this network of citizens with employability potential and then carries out a rigorous screening process with technicians from Social Security and Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto who, among other topics, assess the candidate's employability potential. At the same time, work is done with companies to make them aware of the need to hire candidates, in which volunteers and technicians from various partners meet with them on a regular basis. Training courses in the areas of knowing how to be are held every year, covering practical areas such as gardening, carpentry or cooking, lasting between 200 and 400 hours. After entering the job market, the candidate is followed up for at least two years.
It was within this framework that in 2015 the first national training program dedicated to this target group was designed and carried out with the IEFP, which put 40% of the people into work and 40% into training and rehabilitation.
Recognition and impact generated
Plataforma + Emprego has already received the support and tribute of the Presidency of the Portuguese Parliament and an Honorable Mention in 2015 at the IAPMEI European Business Promotion Awards. In 2018, it was approved to apply for "Partnerships for Impact" under the "Portugal Social Innovation" program of Portugal 2020, which funded it 70%, with the municipality of Porto providing 30% of the funding for a three-year period.
It was in this context that the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP) assessed the social impact of the project between 2018 and 2021, which provided in-depth knowledge of the results for the 2018-2021 period, and also served as a basis for extrapolating the results obtained over its 10 years of activity. This made it possible to obtain solid evidence of the long work done and to inform partners and funders of its impact.
In the balance of the 10 years, in addition to having managed to guarantee means of autonomy for these people in conditions of extreme vulnerability, who have thus seen their life projects reinvigorated, the efforts of the Platform + Employment have made it possible to generate savings and net contributions to Social Security amounting to over 1.3 million euros.
For each citizen who has been placed on the job market, Social Security has received a benefit of 639 euros for each month of work. Overall, so far, for each person who has entered the job market, Social Security has received a benefit of 11 thousand euros. By entering the world of work, these people are no longer dependent on Social Security support, which has generated savings of 947 thousand euros.
"In the balance of the 10 years, in addition to having managed to guarantee means of autonomy for these people in conditions of extreme vulnerability, who have thus seen their life projects reinvigorated, the efforts of the Platform + Employment have made it possible to generate savings and net contributions to Social Security amounting to over 1.3 million euros.\2
They are now net contributors, with 391 thousand euros. In other words, all in all, there was a positive balance for Social Security of 1.34 million euros.
Partners involved
The Platform + Employment encompasses a group of entities with the sole purpose of placing people who have experienced homelessness in the conventional job market. Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto, CAIS, Segurança Social, Associação Coração na Rua, the human resources company Randstad and several individual volunteers are the project's current partners. In these 10 years, the project has also had partnerships with the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training, the Northern Regional Health Administration, the Catholic University, WelcomeHOME and the São Cirilo Community Center.
Potential for replication
This is a pioneering national initiative with great potential for replicability and growth. The Platform + Emprego is ready and willing to support other cities (through NPISA or other groups of potential partners) in setting up their own platforms, using the experience it has acquired over the years and its results.
For more details:
E-Mail: plataformamaisempregoporto@gmail.com
Website: www.plataformamaisemprego.pt
Contacts for further information:
Institutional Relations - Jorge Mayer, 938488377, jorge1mayer@gmail.com
