HRom

Most Roma programmes focus on placing low-skilled or long-term unemployed Roma in the public or voluntary sectors. The basic idea behind the HRom project was to develop a new Roma employment model that specifically aimed to strengthen the labour market opportunities of educated young Roma, as their success in the corporate world serves as an important example in terms of their own communities, corporate diversity, and shaping attitudes within wider society.

The main aim of the programme is to help young Roma people with at least a secondary school qualification find employment in the for-profit sector in high-quality positions commensurate with their qualifications.

We provided skills development training for potential employees and mentored them on job-seeking, securing employment and integration. For partner companies, we facilitated informal meetings with applicants, channelled suitable candidates into open positions, and provided opportunities for mutual knowledge-sharing.

The pilot phase of the programme ran from 2014 to 2016 under the name Integrom, during which we developed the skills and knowledge of more than 100 participants and helped nearly 20 applicants find employment. The tried-and-tested methods – mentoring, skills development and corporate partnerships – have since served as a model and can be continuously adapted for use by other companies and communities.

Diverse, inclusive workplace for the Roma and for others

More information about the details and impacts of the project: https://cps.ceu.edu/research/bridge-to-business