Project 2

The ESF58 reintegration through work project focuses on people in detention who deserve a new chance and want to reintegrate by, among other things, finding a suitable job.

Thanks to the support of ESF, JobRoad can guide this target group individually in the search for work within the prisons of East and West Flanders. Guidance always starts Intramuros. In every prison, session days are scheduled at regular intervals (weekly or biweekly).

Persons are registered throughout the year by their VDAB detention consultant within the relevant penitentiary institution. JobRoad schedules a screening interview on the next day in prison. During this interview (screening), talents, competencies and any experience and/or education are identified. We take into account detention-related factors that can influence the search for work. People are then matched with companies via the principle of ‘Blind hiring’. In order to remain as informed as possible of any developments in the file during the search, we are in close contact with the psycho-social service and VDAB consultant within the penitentiary institutions. When approaching companies, the current JobRoad ambassador is taken into account and the temporary employment sector and new companies are also approached. Conversations with employers and/or employment agencies are always supervised by a project assistant. In this way, context can be provided about the situation of the person and what options there are to get a start-up.

If a start-up follows, this can take place through various forms of employment (permanent contract, fixed-term contract, temporary employment, internship, work-based learning). At JobRoad we can support this, but the employer has the final right to make the decision. 

The guidance is always tailor-made according to the needs and requirements of the person and therefore differs from individual to individual. To provide guidance, a flow of 12 weeks is followed. In practice, this can be deviated from depending on the individual trajectory and file of a candidate.

After start-up with the employer, there is a six-month aftercare process. Both the employer and the employee, and the judicial assistant if applicable, are monitored (intensively in the beginning and decreasingly as the employment progresses) in order to achieve sustainable employment as much as possible.